A Healing Hand
by Sweet June Rain
Summary: Stephanie finds herself in a battle that not even Ranger can save her from. Who will be Stephanie's savior in this dire time of need. The answer comes in the form of a person Stephanie least expects. (OCCs, OCs, and AU, and as always; It's a BABE!) WARNING: This might be a tearjerker! ;x;
1. Chapter 1

New story time! Well, this idea hit me like a ton of bricks, and it wouldn't shy away! now I gotta warn you, some characters in here are extremely OOC! I think you'll like it though, gotta warn you, this may cause a few tears to be shed. WARNING YOU ALL IN ADVANCED! So tell me how you like it so far, this one shouldn't take too long to write, fairly simple plot, I hope :3

JE characters are not mine, shoot, I know, I know! D: I KNOW!

A Healing Hand

Stephanie sat on the cold hard hospital examination table, staring out into space. Her one good hand, the one not in a cast, gripped the thin blue hospital gown she wore tightly. Her doctor was talking softly to her, a comforting hand on her shoulder, as she rattled off about the things that needed to be done. Stephanie could hear her soft voice, it was calm and reassuring, but she couldn't comprehend what she was saying. All her mind could wrap around was the one little phrase her doctor told her.

"The CT scan reveal several tumors on some of your bones, Ms. Plum, they could be cancerous."

Stephanie could hardly believe it, she didn't know rather to laugh, or to cry. She was Stephanie Plum, many of her friends and family had told her many times that she was a walking good luck charm, no harm ever fell to her, no matter if it was a gunshot wound, or a group of gang bangers after, she came out of all her situations with maybe a scratch. Out of all the things in the world to stop her in her tracks why did it have to be this, why did it have to be cancer?

"Now, Ms. Plum, we're going to schedule you for a biopsy. We'll go to several different areas, the lower spine, and the upper femurs are places of importance, since the tumors seem to be much deeper than in any other areas." Her doctor said kindly, looking through Stephanie's medical file, "Is there anyone I should call, Ms. Plum, someone to get you home?"

"No, I'll be fine," Stephanie said softly, letting go of the gown she wore, "I can get home fine, just, give me the time you want to do this biopsy."

"We want to do it soon, no later by the end of this week, we can get a true diagnoses of these tumors, they could be benign, for all we know." The doctor said, though she didn't put much hope in her voice, "For this procedure, you'll need someone to go with you, we'll be putting you to sleep for a bit."

"Okay," Stephanie said softly, watching the doctor write something down in her folder, "Can I go now, I need to go back to work."

Stephanie's doctor nodded her head and she said in a soft voice, "Take it easy, there's always help, if you need support, here's some numbers to places that always have an open ear."

Stephanie thanked her doctor, accepting the brochures she gave her. when her doctor left, she let a few tears fall and a tiny sob escape her mouth, that's all she would let escape, she would have to be strong, maybe they weren't cancerous, maybe they were blips in the CT machine.

Stephanie snorted at that thought, as she got dressed, she had a feeling that they weren't going to be happy cancer free tumors. She would have to wait until Friday to get the news.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Hey White girl," Lula said watching Stephanie walk over to her in the waiting area of the hospital, "Everything alright with your scan?"

Stephanie gave Lula a smiled, though, Lula noted, that it never reached her eyes, "Oh, I'm fine Lula, just a broken bone, it should be healed soon, thanks for taking me to the hospital, by the way."

"It ain't no problem, white girl, just helping a friend out," Lula said as they walked out the hospital, "No how about we go and get some lunch, I'm fucking starving!"

"I am too," Stephanie said, letting out a big yawn, "And sleepy, I think after lunch, I'll go home and sleep."

"Lunch is on me, white girl," Lula said as they walked over to Lula's firebird, "You know, cause I'm such a nice friend."

"Thanks, Lula," Stephanie said with a tired smile, climbing in the car, "I have a hankering for a burger."

"Mcdonald's it is," Lula said, peeling out the hospital parking lot, "Then I'll take you home."

Lula turned to Stephanie, not getting an answer, but found her fast asleep. Lula shook her head and sighed. She was worried for Stephanie, for the last few weeks, Lula noticed that Stephanie would come down to the bails bond office tired, not like, just woke up and trying to shake the sleep off tired, but she was dead tired, like she hadn't had an ounce of sleep at night. Lula knew damn well that Stephanie had gotten plenty of sleep at night. There had been times in which Stephanie would be so tired that Lula would drive her home, or she'd call one of the men from Rangeman to drive Stephanie home. Usually by the time her head hit the head rest of the seat, she was fast asleep.

Not only was Stephanie tired, she was losing weight too. At first Lula and Stephanie had joked about her weight lost, it was almost summer, she would look good in a bikini now. Lula had become concerned, when Stephanie started losing more weight. Lula knew that something was wrong with Stephanie, but Stephanie kept telling her that it was nothing, and not to worry about it, but Lula wasn't one to leave her friends suffering. She made sure that either she or one of men from Rangeman was always with Stephanie, when she went after skips.

It got worse when Stephanie began to complain about the pains in her joints, and bones. She had told Lula, in passing, that it was a deep ache, one that was always constant, and no amount of pain killers could help her. along with the aches, came the bone fractures and several broken bones. It had been the last straw for Lula, she had taken Stephanie to the hospital to get a CT scan. Stephanie had assured her that it was just a few broken bones, nothing to worry about. Lula was extremely worried, nobody should break their arm, just from tripping on the curb and landing in soft grass.

Lula shook her head, made her way to the drive thru. She ordered food for Stephanie and her and then drove to Stephanie's apartment. she wouldn't leave Stephanie alone for the time being, just in case something happened to her friend.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Diesel let out a yawn, leaning against a wall of ancient stones. He turned his head to the set of doors made of oak and made a face at the person situated on the other side of the doors, "I swear, Gina, you get fuglier and fuglier with each passing second."

"Shut up, you twat," the person named 'Gina,' said rounding on Diesel, who suck his tongue out at them and turned back to stare at the blank expanse of stone wall, "I don't know why you're here, you are an annoying louse, who needs to be squashed."

Diesel placed a hand over his heart, feigning horror, "Gina, why are you so cruel to me?! just because you're fugly, doesn't mean you have to take your aggression out on me."

"Why you-!" Gina started, but the doors they were by opened and a woman walked out from a dark room, only lit by candles. Diesel turned to the woman and said with a smile, "Hey Baby, how you feeling?"

"I am fine, Thaddeus," The woman said with a kind smile, patting Diesel's cheek with pure affectionate, "Though, I wish you would stop calling my friend, Fugly, or whatever it is you call her."

Diesel smiled wrapping an arm around frail looking shoulders, "Baby, you know I'm just messing around with Gina, she's a cool cat, right Gina?"

The woman was not fooled, "You need to be nicer, Thaddeus, least you find yourself on the couch tonight," before she slid out of Diesel's grip and over to Gina, "Jeanne, all this meditation has left me weak with hunger, let us go find something to eat."

Diesel blinked, watching the two women walk off, "Baby! I am nicer to Jeanne, or at least I try to be, baby! I can make you something sweet, like those chocolate puffs you like! Baby?!"

Jeanne Ellen Borrows turned to the woman beside her and said, "I still can't believe you're dating that jerk, Diesel's such a dick, you should have gone out with someone else."

"Thaddeus has his moments, but his heart is in the right place," The woman said, tapping her chin with a frail looking hand, amber eyes closed with concentration, "I've yet to see him do much wrong, apart from the cruel teasing to you."

"Well, you should have done better, instead of this jerk, you should have attracted someone much more handsome, richer and nicer." Jeanne said as they entered a kitchen, "Now, what's calling your name, my dear, we have leftover pasta, some ham, uh…roast beef."

"Give me all of it," The woman said, grabbing a bottle of wine from the wine cooler, "I am starving, that last case had me in the meditation room for 3 days."

"We all know," Jeanne said, giving the woman a plate piled high with food, "You need to be careful, you could die on us, if you're not."

"Hardly," The woman snorted, looking over to Jeanne, " I have been doing this for a long time, way before you were born, I can handle myself."

"I just worry about you, you know," Jeanne said, sitting down beside the woman and hugging her, "You're so frail, it's like a gust of wind could knock you down."

"Please, looks can be deceiving," The woman said with a wink, before she dug into her meal, "Now, let us enjoy the peace and solitude we have now, I have a feeling I will be having another client soon."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Tank smiled as the ringtone he put for Lula went off. It didn't matter if he could have the shittiest day in the office, Lula's voice always made him feel better. Right now, he could use some Lula loving. With Ranger off in Boston helping out there for a while, Tank was stuck with all the important work here in Rangeman Trenton.

Tank picked his phone up and answered with a, "Hey Lula honey bear."

"Hi Tankie Wankie, I was just calling to see how you were doing," Lula said to the man, "I hope you're not working too hard."

"I'm almost done," Tank said with a small smile, looking at the picture of Lula on his desk, "I'll be home soon."

"Tank, I'm worried about Stephanie, you've seen the changes, haven't you?" Lula asked Tank, causing the man to lean back in his office chair with a sigh.

Lula had been adamant that something was wrong with Stephanie. Tank could see something was wrong too. Stephanie had been losing weight , she was tired all the time, and she was always in a cast. Lula hadn't wanted her out chasing skips, so Tank begged Stephanie, yes, a man built like a tank, begged for Stephanie to come back and work at Rangeman. she was now working at Rangeman part-time and bounty hunting low, easy bails.

It was a start, now all Tank needed to do was to get her at Rangeman full time. Ranger would kick his ass if something serious happened to Stephanie, in his watch.

"I'm worried too, but unless Stephanie tells us something, there's nothing we can do, and you know how Stephanie is like, she keeps it bottled in, thanks to all those lessons the 'burg taught her." Tank let out a frustrated noise, earning one back from Lula.

"Those damn robots," Lula huffed, before she said, "I'm over at Steph's I'm staying here for a bit, just to make sure she's alright, I don't want her alone."

"Good idea, Lula honey bear," Tank said smiling, "I'll be over there too, once I'm done with work, I'll bring take out, how about Chinese?"

"That sounds wonderful," Lula said with a smile, "I gotta go, I'm going to clean up Stephanie's place, Rex's cage could use some new bedding."

"Okay, I'll see you soon, honey bear," Tank said earning a, "I'll see you soon, Tankie Wankie."

Tank hung the phone up and sighed, hopefully, Stephanie would tell us what's going on. Hopefully, Ranger would be home from Boston too.

Hopfully….

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Lula let a sound, throwing the dirty bedding that was once in Rex's cage in the trash. She turned to the hamster and watched with amusement as he dug happily in the soft pine bedding, an olive in his mouth and his rump in the air. Lula smiled and said, "Now that you're all fixed up, I'm going finish the rest of the apartment.

Lula started with the kitchen, washing what little dishes Stephanie had, and cleaning out her cabinets and refrigerator. She made a mental note to make a list of groceries for Tank to get for Stephanie. no matter how much Stephanie would whine and complain about 'charity', Lula was going to make sure that Stephanie was looked after, something in her gut told her to look after her.

After the kitchen was sparkling clean, Lula went into the living room/dining room area and straightened it up. She closed the door to Stephanie's bedroom so she could run the vacuum, but she highly doubted that Stephanie would wake up from the noise the vacuum made, lately Stephanie would fall into a deep sleep and nothing could wake her up.

Lula made a sound, as she knocked over Stephanie's purse off its perch on the coffee table. Lula turned off the vacuum and picked up all the contents that fell out of Stephanie's purse. Lula paused, picking up a group of brochures from the floor. She got up slowly, leafing through the papers, her heart dropping with each turn.

"Oh no," Lula said, sitting down on the couch and looking down at the brochures, "Oh no, oh no!"

Lula felt tears blur her vision, but she could see the words as clear as day: "**You don't have to face cancer alone; we're here to help!"**

TBC…..

How about, you guys leave me a review and tell me what you think of it so far, ja? Thank you! :D


	2. The Results Are In!

Oh goodness, thank you for the reviews, I know, this is going to be another tough story to write, it is going to be a tearjerker, for now, now here's chapter 2.

Disclaimer is in chapter one, okay, thanks bye!

WARNING:this chapter is emotional! ;o;

Chapter 2

The Results Are In!

Stephanie let out a pained groan, sitting up in her bed. how long was she asleep? Stephanie turned her head to the clock on her side table and frowned. It was nearly nine at night. She left the hospital at one, Lula force fed her food at around one thirty….she was fast asleep for eight hours. It didn't feel like she had slept for eight hours, her body still ached and demanded hat she go back to sleep. Her stomach, however, demanded food, and the stomach always went ahead of sleep.

Stephanie slid out of bed, wincing at the way her joints and bones ached, the pain extreme. She walked over to her bathroom, grabbed the big bottle of aspirin and took four of them. she knew they wouldn't work, but it was always nice to believe that they might have an effect on her. Stephanie washed the sleep off her face and then walked gingerly over to her bedroom door, which was closed. She could hear voices on the other side of the door, and it had her wary. She could hear Lula and Tank, why were they at her apartment? Lula should have left ages ago.

Stephanie sighed and opened her bedroom door. She found Tank and Lula sitting on her couch, eating Chinese food. The smell of the food had her stomach rumbling. Lula looked up from her food and said, with a smile, "Steph, I hope you're hungry, Tank bought a lot of food."

"I'm sure am," Stephanie said with a smile, going over to the two and sitting down next to Lula, Who handed her a plate full of noodles, meat and vegatables. She ate in silence, listening to Tank talk about what was going on at Rangeman.

"Lester came in hung over the other day," Tank said to Stephanie and Lula, putting his empty plate down, "Had an all nighter with some women, I took him to the mats and then put him on the cameras for the rest of the week, he swears he won't ever come in drunk again, but, we all know Lester."

"Oh yeah," Stephanie said to a giggling Lula, "He'll turn around and go out and trashed and go right to work in the morning!"

They chuckled for a while, and then they got silent. Stephanie sighed and placed her empty plate on the table. She winced in pain as her wrist hit the edge of the coffee table. It had hurt more than it was supposed to. She could see the makings of a large bruise on the tender area. Stephanie rubbed the sore area and looked up to see Lula and Tank staring at her intently. Stephanie smiled softly and said, "I just hit the coffee table too hard, don't worry, I'm a big girl."

Tank looked at Lula, who nodded her head, her eyes shining with tears. Tank turned to Stephanie and said in a soft voice, "Stephanie, we need to talk."

Stephanie's face paled as she watched as Lula pulled the brochures her doctor gave her earlier in the day, the ones about cancer. Stephanie looked up with wild eyes at Lula and Tank, "H-o…"

"I'm sorry, Steph, they fell out your purse, I was putting them back," Lula said, her eyes pricking with tears, "Please, tell us, what's going on? Is that why you're always in pain?"

Tank placed a gentle hand on Stephanie's shoulder and said, softly, "Please, don't shut us out, please, let us help you, tell us what's going on, Stephanie."

Stephanie's shoulder sagged, the damn she built up so tightly, threatened to crack. She didn't want to burden any of her friends, it was her problem, she could get past this, alone. Lula placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder and said, "I know what's going through your head, Stephanie, and frankly, I don't care if you believe that you're going to be a pain in our asses. We're your friends, and we'll stick by with you, thick and thin."

Stephanie nodded her head, a sob bubbling up through her throat, "Thanks guys, you two are the best," wiping tears from her eyes, "Lula, Tank, the CT you forced me to go have, Lula, it reveal that there were several tumors growing inside some my bones. The doctor thinks they're cancerous."

"Does she know for sure?" Tank asked, sitting up and scooping Stephanie in his arms, as she broke down and began to cry, "Do they really know?"

"No, but they're going to perform a biopsy on me in two days," 'Stephanie sobbed, looking up, "But by the tone of her voice, I know, it's something bad, there were so many tumors!"

Tank rubbed Stephanie's back as she cried, "Don't worry, we'll be with you every step of the way, I'll call Ranger right away-"

"No, don't tell him, I don't want him to worry about all of this, he has so much on his plate, please, don't tell him!" Stephanie said weakly, to Lula and Tank, "Please."

"We won't tell him anything, for now," Tank said, earning a soft, "Thank you," from Stephanie, "Don't worry, Stephanie, we'll be there for everything."

"I don't know what I'd do without you two right now." Stephanie said looking at Tank and Lula, "Thanks for just being here."

"No problem, Stephanie ," Lula said with a smile, looking at her friend, "Now, how about some dessert, I got some Boston crèmes."

"Sounds like a perfect way to end the day," Stephanie said with a yawn, rubbing her now bruised wrist, "I hope you don't mind if I eat them all."

"Not if I eat them all first, white girl!" Lula said getting up and grabbing the pink box, "I know Tankie Wankie wants one!"

"Oh goodness," Tank said with a smile, "I'll let you ladies enjoy them, if that's alright with you."

It was nice to see some sort of normalcy between Lula and Stephanie. Tank knew that this could be one the last momemnts in which they would all feel normal. On Friday that could very well change. He made a note to check out Stephanie's health insurance. He was still on Rangeman's payroll, and so, she should still be getting benefits. Even if she wasn't, Tank would make sure she wouldn't have to worry about bills or any of the like. Stephanie shouldn't have to worry about them, not with this piece of heavy news resting on her shoulders.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Ranger had been at Rangeman Boston for 4 days. He had come up to Boston, due to a group of Rangemen, gone renegade. They had tried to hack a total of ten million dollars from his company. It was a shame they didn't know how to properly hack into their computer system, they could have gotten away with it. Now that he had found the ones who tired to steal from him, Ranger could pack up and head back home to Trenton, to see his Babe.

Ranger smiled, as he thought about Stephanie. She was the light in his dark world. She was the reason he always did 200 percent during the missions the government handed out to him. She would always wait for him to return, no matter how long it took. If anything were to happen to her, well, he'd move heaven and earth to rectify the problem. It was such a shame that Stephanie didn't know how much power she had over this stone hearted mercenary. She didn't know how madly in love he was with her. it was best that he kept her at arm's length, just so she wouldn't be in any danger. She already had dangers of her own, from her job as a bounty hunter. He also knew about how controlling her mother was, and knew that Morelli wanted her to transform into something she wasn't. Ranger would make sure she was taken care, even if she didn't want it, even If they couldn't be together.

Ranger pulled his phone out and dialed Stephanie's number, it would be great to hear her voice, before he fell asleep. Stephanie answered within two rings.

"Yo," Her voice was soft and sounded tired and tight, as if she was in pain.

"Babe, everything alright?" Ranger asked, sitting up and tuning in to Stephanie's voice, "You sound tired, are you sleeping well?"

"Yes, Ranger, I'm getting my eight hours plus extra," Stephanie said with a chuckle, "I'm just a bit sleepy, don't worry, Tank and Lula have been on my case, they wouldn't let me go anywhere without a Merry man or them."

That was good, lately Ranger had seen something was wrong with Stephanie. she was more tired, she was losing weight, always rubbing her joints. Hopefully, she went to the hospital about it, but, knowing Stephanie, she wouldn't go. Hopefully someone made her go, so she could find out what's going on.

They chatted softly for a while, mostly about what was going on at Rangeman, and about Stephanie's skip. Ranger liked this feeling of normalcy, whenever he was around Stephanie, she made him feel normal, she wasn't scared of him and his men, and she didn't go ga-ga over him like other women do.

"I miss you," Stephanie sighed, sleepily, making Ranger smile, "Hurry up and come home soon."

"I'll be there by Saturday," Ranger said, before Stephanie chuckled and said, "Good night Ranger."

"Good night, Babe." Ranger hung up the phone, and stared out into space, his mind on Stephanie.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I am in need of a new tattoo," The woman said softly to Jeanne, one dainty frail hand holding a long stemmed smoking pipe, which had purple smoke emitting from the end of it, "Would you be a dear and fetch the local tattoo artist, Xu?"

Jeanne looked up from her computer, and over to the woman, who wrapped her lips around the pipe and inhaled deeply, "Do you have any bare skin on you?"

"Yes, in fact I do, the protection tattoo I had has disappeared, I need another one," The woman said blowing purple smoke over to Jeanne's face, "I will be in need of it, I can feel my services will be needed soon."

Jeanne got up from her pillow and said, "I'll be back soon," walking out the modern sitting room.

The woman sighed and said, "Boyfriend….boyfriend!" turning to an archway that led into the kitchen, "Boyfriend, I am calling to you!"

Diesel's head appeared in the doorway, "Yes baby?" his eyes fixed on the frail figure that was situated on a huge pillow.

"I am in need of your loving," The woman cooed, making Diesel leer at her, "I request your company, before Xu gets here."

"Getting another tattoo, I see," Diesel said, sitting beside the woman on the pillow, and wrapping her up in his arms.

"Yes, the protection one I had has faded away, it is time for it to get replaced." The woman said sitting up, "I will be getting another client, soon, be prepared for leaving at the drop of a dime."

"Always ready, with you, baby," Diesel said to the woman, kissing her cheek, "Now how about some Diesel lovin'."

"I would love that, very much," The woman said before she leaned up and kissed Diesel's lips.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie cracked one eyes open, wincing in pain as she turned on the narrow hospital bed. A steady large hand stopped her, and Tank said in a low voice, Don't move to lay on your back, the doctor said it would be sore and tender for a while, since they got bone samples from your spine."

Stephanie nodded her head and croaked, "Water?" letting Tank sit her up in the bed.

Tank accepted the plastic cup from Lula, and helped Stephanie drink ice water from a straw. Stephanie let out a pained whimper and said, "Where's the doctor?"

"She's getting your results back from the biopsy, you were asleep for a while, Stephanie," Lula said going over to Stephanie and grabbing her IV free hand, "About the whole day."

'Were you two here the whole time?" Stephanie asked, looking over to Lula and Tank, "You shouldn't have done that-"

"Nonsense," Lula said looking at the woman, "I was here the whole day, Tank went to work, but came back from time to time. I wasn't about to leave you here alone, when you woke up."

"Thanks," Stephanie said, wincing in pain as she moved, "I'm in so much pain….."

"They left some pain killers for you," Tank said, picking up the small cup that had two pills in them, "It's pretty hardcore, but it should help with the chroni pain you have, and the pain from the biopsy."

Stephanie thanked them for the pills, and took them, washing them down with water and then laying back on her side. It only took minutes for the pills to kick in, making all the pain leave her body.

Lula and Tank looked up, seeing the door to Stephanie's room open, and her doctor came in, holding the results from her biopsy. She looked over to Tank and Lula, and then at Stephanie who said, "Well, Doc, you can tell me the news, I'm a big girl."

"Stephanie, the tumors are cancerous," The doctor said softly, looking at the woman, "I'm afraid you have Stage four Primary Bone Cancer, it's the primary bonce cancer called Angiosarcoma. It occurs very rarely, and it's very advanced."

Stephanie gripped Lula's hand and asked, "What, does that mean."

"Angiosarcoma is a type of bone cancer that can manifest in different parts of the skeletal system, or on different places on the same bone," The doctor said softly, her hand on Stephanie's shoulder, "Your Angiosarcoma is at stage four, since it is widely spread, and several tumors are deep in the bony tissue, Iwe also found that a secondary cancer has formed at the lower spine, this one is much more rarer than Angiosarcoma, it's called Chordoma."

"What's going to happen now?" Lula asked for Stephanie, trying to hold back the tears, "Can you get her on chemotherapy?"

"What I'm going to do right now, is to request that you go to Princeton to the Princeton Medical School," The doctor said, writing something down in Stephanie's file, "They have the leading advance technology, your chances for survival will go up, if you go there."

Stephanie looked at the doctor and asked, "Survival?" She hadn't thought about that part, "What's my chances for survival, if I don't go to Princeton?"

"It looks as though you've had this cancer for maybe a year, and no doctor has caught it," Stephanie's doctor said looking up, "If they had caught it a year ago, I would have said your chances for survival would be 100 percent. At the advanced stage that it's at now, and with the secondary cancer and the deepness and widespread of the both cancers, you have a zero percent chance of survival, if you go to Princeton, it goes up to five percent….I suggest you go to Princeton, they may have the key to helping you."

TBC…

(Oh my goodness...;s;)

if you would be so kind as to leave this humble girl a review, that would be great.


	3. Time To Tell The Family

Chapter 3, enjoy! :D

Thank you for the review, this is going to be a tough story, I knows D;

Disclaimer is in chapter one

WARNING: TearJerker and Helen Bashing in this one (Did I mention that I hate Helen Plum? B[)

A Healing Hand

_Time To Tell The Family_

It was like Stephanie was on auto-pilot after she was discharged from the hospital. She was discharged at around nine that evening. Tank thought it was best if she went to Rangeman, to Ranger's seventh floor penthouse. He had called Bobby, and told him what was going on with Stephanie. Stephanie may have told them not to tell Ranger, but he would sure as hell tell Rangeman's medic. Bobby was already on the phone with Princeton Medical School, reserving a room with Stephanie and requesting the top rated doctor that dealt with cancers of the skeletal system. Stephanie may not know it, but she had a team of people that would help and support her through this time of need.

Lula helped Stephanie change into one of Ranger's shirt and a pair of terry cloth shorts, and then settled her in the big bed. Ella reassured them both that she would watch over Stephanie through the night. Ella had come to see Stephanie as her own flesh and blood, just like she did with all the men that worked at Rangeman. When she had found out about the cancer, from Tank, she made sure that Stephanie had all her favorite foods stocked up, and her favorite movies. Ella would check on Stephanie through the night. She wanted to make sure that Stephanie was as comfortable as possible.

Stephanie took the two painkillers prescribed to her, and then settled down to go to sleep, she would be going to Princeton on Monday, so that meant, that during the weekend, she would tell her family about the cancer, no, cancers. She hadn't thought that her main cancer could cause another cancer, but with it being at a advanced stage, secondary cancers were always a possibility. Her doctor had told her that. Stephanie didn't want to fight two cancers. Both cancers were rare, and they were so deep in her bones, now, she didn't want to know what could happen to her now.

Stephanie inhaled Ranger's scent, and fell into a peaceful sleep, wishing that Ranger was here, to wrap his strong arms around her waist.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Ranger was relieved to be home, he took a flight out of Boston, and drove nonstop from Newark to Trenton. What Ranger wanted to do, before he went to his Babe's apartment, was take a shower and freshen up. He had been up and on the go all day long, he wanted to feel relaxed, when he went to watch Stephanie sleep. It was a habit he did, when he needed to calm down. Seeing his babe safe and sleeping always did work, when calming him down. He would sit through the night, and just watch her. he wanted to hold her, to never let her go, to always be the one she turned to.

Ranger pressed the key fob that led to the seventh floor penthouse. It wasn't his 'batcave,' as Stephanie put it, but it was a place to rest his tired body. Maybe one day, he would take Stephanie to the batcave, but not now, not until they were both ready.

Ranger opened the door to the penthouse and walked in, placing his keys in the bowl and walking through the apartment to the bedroom. The moment he got into his bedroom, he felt, more than saw that Stephanie was in his bed. Usually, she wasn't in the penthouse, unless there was a problem with a skip, or she got another stalker. No, he would have been abreast if she had one. So then, why was she in his bedroom? It wasn't like she needed a reason, it was always a nice feeling to know that she was here, she would be much safer in his penthouse than at her apartment.

Ranger frowned, as he walked over to Stephanie. she had a purple cast on her arm, and a big bruise on her wrist, as if someone grabbed her roughly. It was like she had gotten smacked around a few times. He hoped to god that it hadn't been Morelli who hit her. He would find the cop and kill him.

Ranger stripped out his clothes and made his way to the bathroom. He washed up quickly and then slid on his black boxers. He climbed into bed with Stephanie, wrapping his arms around her waist, inhaling her scent. Usually when he wrapped himself around her, she woke up. Stephanie didn't move a muscle, she didn't even witch. Ranger sat up, seeing the pill bottle on the nightstand close to the bed. It was a bottle of Oxycotin. Oxycotin wasn't something that was given to people with broken bones, what was going on with is Babe?

Ranger didn't fall sleep that night, but he wouldn't wake Stephanie up, and drill her. it seemed that she needed all the rest she could get. Maybe she will tell him in the morning.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Diesel had to turn away from the scene in front of him. He never understood how she could do it. it must be ten times more painful than getting a tattoo the normal way, through a tattoo gun. Plus, there was a risk that she could get sick during the process or faint. He would stick to getting a tattoo the reasonable way, thank you very much.

Jeanne punched Diesel in the arm and said, "Toughen up, she's only 5'4 and takes it like a man, better than what you do!"

Diesel stuck his tongue out at Jeanne, and turned back to see his woman on her stomach, naked from the waist up. She was lying on a large pillow, close to a low table, which was covered in inks made from natural minerals and plants. The village elder, Xu was hunched over her, dipping what appeared to be a five toothed comb, into a bowl of black ink. It wasn't a comb, the tips were too sharp. No, it was a tattooing instrument that dated back to the first Qin dynasty. Diesel's lover told him that the tattoos were much more effective in what they were intended to do, if they used the tattooing instrument that once put tattoos on royalty. Xu was the only who had it, plus, he was the only one who knew how to use it.

The moment the combs sharp teeth went through his lover's back, Diesel fainted, earning laughter from Jeanne.

"You're such a pussy!" Jeanne said, turning to watch Xu ink the outline he placed on the woman's back.

The woman, for her part, was silent, still as a stone, if she was in pain, she didn't let it show. She had done this many a times that the pain was hardly there. She had opted for a tiger, but she needed a phoenix, the phoenix tattoo would help her, and protect her.

"When Thaddeus has awaken, tell him to go make a pot of tea, we shall be here for a while," The woman said looking over to Jeanne, who nodded her head and smiled, "Jeanne make sure he makes the yummy cookies as well."

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Jeanne said as slapped Diesel awake, "Diesel, you fool, go make some tea and cookies, Xu is going to be here for a while, it looks like a complicated tattoo."

The woman sighed, turning her head to the side, she had this nagging feeling, that soon, this moment of calmness would be shattered.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie woke up to the smell of Bulgaria, and to pain. Her pain medication must have worn off. Stephanie let out a pained groan, and tried to turn, but a strong arm kept her in place. When she started to move, the arm slid away and Ranger whispered, "Babe," in her ear.

"Ranger," Stephanie said turning to look at the man, a smile on her face, "You're back, how was Boston?"

"Boston was Boston," Ranger said with a smile, tuck a wild curl behind Stephanie's ear, "You're in pain, Babe, I can see it on your face."

"Don't worry, Ranger," Stephanie said, sitting up in Ranger's arms, wincing in pain, "Ouch…"

Ranger helped Stephanie up, got up and went to get her a glass of water. He handed her two painkillers and the glass of water. Stephanie thanked him softly and took the pills quickly. She looked up at Ranger who was giving her a look.

"Babe, did someone beat you?" Ranger asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "Was it the cop? If it was I swear I'll-"

Stephanie placed a tired hand on Ranger's arm and said, "No, no one beat me, Ranger I have something to tell you, Tank and Lula wanted to tell you, but I wanted to be the one to tell you."

Ranger felt his heart clench as tears fell down Stephanie's cheek. Ranger wiped them away and asked, "Stephanie, Babe, what's wrong?"

"I-" Stephanie hiccuped, looking up at Ranger, "Ranger, Lula made me go to the doctors on Wednesday, after I broke my arm on Tuesday, remember I called you and told you about the break?"

Ranger nodded his head, pulling Stephanie into a hug, hoping to comfort her in any way.

"The doctors, they found several tumors, they were growing inside my bones," Stephanie said softly, looking up at Ranger's ashen face, "Ranger, they're cancerous, I have cancer, I have two forms of cancer."

Ranger gripped Stephanie's shoulders as she cried in his shirt. Cancer, he knew family members that battled with cancer and won it, Stephanie was a fighter, she could fight this. She could and she would.

"Don't worry, Babe, you can fight this, you can-" Ranger started, but Stephanie stopped him, by placing her hands on his chest.

"Ranger, it's at Stage four, the tumors, they're everywhere, and it's some of them are so deep, they've replaced healthy tissue with cancerous tissue, I have to go to Princeton Medical School, I have a higher chance of surviving."

"What are your chances now," Ranger asked softly, he couldn't break down, he had to be the strong one here.

"0 percent," Stephanie said in Ranger's shirt, "But If I go to Princeton, it rises to 5 percent."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"You're taking this news well," Stephanie said to Ranger as they drove to Stephanie's parent's house, "Lula broke down after the doctor left the hospital room."

Ranger turned to Stephanie and said, "I have to be strong, you'll need all the strength you can get. You don't have to bear all the weight alone, I'm here for you too."

Ranger didn't know what to do, after hearing the news from Stephanie. He contacted Bobby, who assured him that Stephanie would get the best help on this side of the united States, at Princeton Medical School, and if they couldn't help her, then Ranger would travel to the ends of the earth to see that she made a 100 percent recovery. His Babe was worth more than anything else in the world.

Ranger had been a bit leery, when Stephanie said she wanted to tell her parents about her cancers. Ranger didn't know how her family would react to knowing that their flesh and blood could possibly die- no Ranger couldn't think like that, she would survive, she would beat this cancer. They decided that they would go Saturday night, Sunday would a day just for Ranger and Stephanie, before they left for Princeton on Monday morning.

Stephanie told Ranger that if she left her family out of the loop, things would start to get ugly. She couldn't keep her grandma out of this, nor her father and sister. She didn't know how her mother would react, but she hoped that it wouldn't be too badly. Her youngest daughter was fighting a big battle. She called her parent early that morning and told them that She and Ranger would be over for dinner that night. She asked them to invite Valarie, Albert and the girls over so that she could tell everyone at once, it would hurt less if she did it that way. It wasn't like she was going alone, anyways, she had invited Lula and Tank along as well. Their unwavering support, and Ranger's comforting presence would soften the blow.

Stephanie let out a sound, as Ranger pulled the Cayenne on the side of the curb of her parent's house. Her mother and grandma were waiting for her on the porch. Ranger grabbed her hand and said, "Don't worry Babe, I'm with you."

"Thank you," Stephanie said, as they climbed out the car. Ranger grabbed her hand again and together, the two climbed up the stairs to the porch.

"I see you bought the bounty hunter with the nice package!" Grandma Mazur cooed, trying to cop a feel at Ranger, "You know, if I were a couple decades younger…"

"Mother!" Helen Plum exclaimed, her face turning red, "The neighbors are watching!"

"So what, let 'em watch!" Grandma Mazur leered at Ranger, causing him to smile and shake his head, "Fine, I'll just wait until we're inside."

"Grandma," Stephanie said with a smile, "You always know how to make me smile."

Grandma Mazur winked at Stephanie and said, "How you feeling, Stephanie, I know you haven't been feeling too well lately,"

"I'm feeling as fine as I can be," Stephanie said, walking into the house, "Oh, Lula and Tank are coming over as well, I have some news to tell everyone."

"I hope it's important news," Helen said crossly, tapping her foot, "You know, Lisa has a cold, and you made Valarie come out with a sick child."

"It's okay Mom," Valarie said coming into the foyer, holding a sleeping Lisa, "She has her cough medicine, she'll be just fine."

Valarie turned to Stephanie and Ranger and said, "Hello, Steph, Ranger, come on in, mind the girls, they're playing My Little Pony, well, Mary Alice is, Angie is reading a book."

Helen sniffed and said, "Well, I'll go in the kitchen and finish dinner. I made chicken."

"And I made your favorite dessert," Grandma Mazur said kindly, patting Stephanie's cheek, "Pineapple upside down cake."

"Thanks Grandma," Stephanie said, leading Ranger into the living room, where her father sat on his lazy boy, watching the news, "Hi Daddy."

Frank Plum turned and then turned off the TV, A first in this house. He got up from his seat and hugged Stephanie, a rare show of affection and said, "How you feeling, Pumpkin?"

"Good," Stephanie said, feeling tears well up in her eyes, "I'm feeling good."

"How about that broken arm?" Frank asked pointing to Stephanie's purple cast, "Any other problems."

"No, not any problems with the broken arm," Stephanie said, sitting down in the love seat beside Ranger, "I have some news for you all, I don't have to wait for Tank and Lula, they already know."

Stephanie turned to look at all her family members. She grabbed Ranger's hand with her good hand and said, "Lula made me go to the hospital, earlier this week, she had been concerned about my health, and got me to get some testing done."

"Oh my god!" Helen said looking at Stephanie with horror, "You're pregnant with that thug's baby! Why me! Why do I have to have a daughter who-"

"That's not it, ," Lula said, walking into the living room, her hands on her hips, "And if you gave Stephanie a chance, she'll tell you what's going on."

Stephanie gave Lula a smile of gratification and turned to look at her family, "The doctors, they found that there were….there were several tumors growing on some of my bones."

Stephaine paused for a moment, letting the severity of her word sink into her family's head. It was Grandma Mazur who spoke first, "They're cancerous, aren't they, Stephanie."

Stephanie's vision blurred with tears, and she nodded her head, "I-have advanced primary bone cancer, and I have a secondary cancer that stemmed off the first cancer."

"Why me!" Helen wailed, shaking her head dramatically, "Why me, the neighbor's children don't get cancer! It must have bee from you hanging out with those thugs and criminals! You should have gotten a job at the button factory, just like I wanted you to do, this is a punishment, you're being-"

Helen let out a yelp of pain, holding her now red cheek. Frank stood before, his eyes cut in half. He too was shocked at what he had just done, but how dare his wife! The room was dead quiet, everyone looking at Frank.

"I never ever raised my voice at you, let alone strike you, Helen," Frank said, bringing his hand down to his side, "But what you just said to our daughter, who is suffering from cancer, was just plain disgusting! How dare you blame her for something she has no control over! And then you go and blame other people! I don't what's wrong with you, but if you ever say something like that again, I will not be accountable for the actions I'll do! She had cancer, she doesn't need for you to brown beat her and to belittle the people she chooses to associate with, she's a grown woman, get over yourself!"

Frank turned away from Helen and walked over to his daughter. He hugged Stephanie to him and asked, "Is there anything I can do pumpkin?"

Stephanie shook her head, looking up at her father, "No, I'm going to Princeton Medical School on Monday morning. They think I have a better chance at surviving if I went up there."

Valarie shook her head, tears in her eyes, "What are your chances no, Steph?"

Stephanie let out a weak sob, and said, "Now? Zero percent, the tumors are so deep in my bones, that the cancerous tissue has replaced the healthy tissue. That's why I was bruising so easily, and got this broken arm."

Grandma Mazur placed a withered hand on Stephanie's shoulder and said, "Don't worry ,baby girl, I know you can beat it, I know you can."

"I'm scared," Stephanie confessed softly holding onto her father, "I don't know if I can beat it, that's what scares me."

"Are you going to die, Aunt Stephanie?" Mary Alice asked Stephanie, her eyes big and shining with tears, "My friend's dad died from cancer, does that mean you're going to die too?"

Ranger spoke for Stephanie, ruffling Mary Alice's hair, "No, she's going to fight it, because she's Wonder Woman."

"We'll be there for you," Tank said with a smile, "so you won't go at it alone."

Stephanie smiled and said, "Thank you, for being there for me."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Lula and Grandma Mazur wouldn't let Dinner become a somber affair, they had everyone laughing, except for Helen, who, stayed in the kitchen to eat, after she put the food out on the table. After dessert, plans and promises were made to visit Stephanie at hospital in Princeton.

Ranger turned to Stephanie, as he drove the cayenne down the street to Rangeman. she was fast asleep, tired from the evening they had with her family. Ranger had one hand on Stephanie's thigh, as if he was scared she might slip away from him any second. She had said something to them all that night that had scared him. She was scared, terrified at the thought of dying, at the thought of losing the battle against cancer. It hurt him to his very core to see his Babe like this. He wished more than anything in the world, that he could take her place and battle this cancer for her. There was nothing he could do for, except make sure she got the best medical treatment around and be her emotional support.

For the first time, in an extremely long time, Ranger was helpless in a dire situation.

TBC...

(IF you would be so kind to leave a review, that would be awesome, I love your feedback!)


	4. The Hospital

Today...is my 24th Birthday! 8D and what better way to celebrate than by putting up a new chapter :3 Here you go, ENJOY

Disclaimer is in the first chapter, ain't no body got time for that

WARNING: Emotional chapter, I had to wipe some tears off my screen and mild drug use.

ENJOY!

A Healing Hand

The Hospital

"I had a wonderful day, Ranger," Stephanie said softly, grabbing Ranger's hand, "Thank you for taking me to Point Pleasant."

"Anything for you, Babe," Ranger said as the couple walked down the beach, the sun setting over the beach, "I just want it to be a day we both remember."

Stephanie leaned against Ranger and said in a weak voice, "Ranger, I'm not dying tonight, I mean, we're all dying, it's just, I'm just dying at a quicker pace."

Ranger tried to see the humor in Stephanie's joke, but he couldn't. It was true, the cancer inside of Stephanie was killing her quickly. Ranger had obtained her doctor's phone number and had asked her how long Stephanie had, if she didn't get the cancer treated.

She had told him less than four months.

It had felt as though Ranger had swallowed a heavy stone. Four months of life left, if they couldn't get rid of the cancer that was ravaging his Babe's body. It might be even less than that. Ranger wanted to make sure that Stephanie got the best treatment. He wouldn't leave her bedside, he'd work from a laptop, or make Tank run Rangeman. it was just a business, all the men knew that Stephanie came before anything.

Ranger didn't want Stephanie to dwell on the fact that she would be spending a long period of time in the hospital. He wanted to make sure that she had good memories, before she went in. They woke up early, lounging in the bed until around 10. Ranger got up and then made her chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate milk shakes. A breakfast Ranger would never make, but he'd do anything for Stephanie.

After breakfast they lounged in the bed for a bit. Before Ranger and Stephanie got ready for the day and spent a half hour deciding what the two would do for the day. Stephanie said she wanted to spend her last day of no hospitals at Point Pleasant. Ranger obliged and together they spent the day at the beach, riding the rides on the boardwalk, eating junk food, (For Stephanie, he's burn down the temple,) And then spent the day playing in the waves and having a intimate dinner on the beach.

Ranger turned to Stephanie and said softly, "Don't say that Babe, we'll find a way, I know we will, you can beat this-"

"That's what you all keep saying," Stephanie said turning to Ranger, "I'll beat it! You don't know that, with only a five percent chance of survival?! It hurts, Ranger, I'm taking four horse pills just to function at 50 percent, I'm so tired, Ranger, I just want to fall on the beach right now, and go to sleep. I loved what you cooked me, but I couldn't keep it down. You heard me, in the restroom. Please, please, just stop saying I'll beat it, I-I'm really getting sick and tired of that mantra, it's not nice to place false hope into anyone, me included."

Ranger's mouthed tightened with emotion and he said, in a tight voice, "It's not false hope, Stephanie, I know you have it in you, I know you do."

"Please," Stephanie said with a sob, "Please, Ranger, it's my last night, before I go off to Princeton, I don't want to think about cancer, death, any of it, I just want to enjoy it with you, please, stop talking about it."

Stephanie gripped Ranger's hand and said, "Besides, why think about something so bleak, when the Atalantic ocean is calling our name. and it's only three feet away from where we stand?"

Ranger nodded his head and said, "Come on Babe, let's go play in the waves, one more time."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie turned on her side, watching Ranger dry his wet hair, a small black towel wrapped around his waist. She really shouldn't be surprised that Ranger had a beach house here at Point Pleasant, she would have been surprised if he didn't have one. It was a small house, with only three bedrooms and three bathrooms, which were all situated on the second floor. The main floor was an open floor plan with the kitchen, living room and dining room all in one big area. It was furnished in the standard Ranger color scheme; black, but to Stephanie, it felt like another home. It really didn't matter where they were, as long as Ranger was with her, anywhere could be her home.

Stephanie paused in her thinking, feeling finger tug at her curly locks. Ranger leaned over her and said, "You look like you're having deep thoughts."

"I was just thinking," Stephanie said softly, looking up at Ranger, "About how nice it is to be with you, no matter where we are."

"You know what they say, Babe," Ranger said, sliding into bed beside Stephanie, who curled into his embrace, "Home is where the heart is, and I want you to know, Stephanie, that where your heart it, that's where my home is at."

Ranger ran his fingers over Stephanie cheek and whispered, "You look so beautiful, lying here, in my arms, Stephanie, I know you don't want to talk about it but-"

Stephanie placed a finger over Ranger's lips and said in a soft voice, "No, please, don't say anything about it, let's just savoir what we have now."

"Carlos," Stephanie said softly, pulling Ranger's face down, "Please, for tonight, before it all changes for us, let's be together, as one."

"I don't want to hurt you, Stephanie," Ranger said softly, kissing Stephanie's neck, "I could hurt you if we do this."

"I don't care," Stephanie said, tears welling up in her eyes, "I don't care Carlos, just one last time, if that's all we have."

"I'll be gentle," Ranger said softly, laying Stephanie on her back, looming over her form, "I'll be gentle, Stephanie."

Ranger took his time preparing her, lavishing kisses up and down her body, caressing her gently, mindful of the fact that her limbs were much more brittle, that she was prone to bruising now. They had no need to confess their true feelings, because it was written on their faces, the love the devotion, the admiration. Both of them had their strength in their own different ways. Each completing the other one like puzzle pieces.

Stephanie let out a soft moan, as Ranger entered her. this was how she wanted to be with Ranger. To be wrapped around his presence, his scent, his everything. The emotions she felt, bought tears to her eyes. Ranger looked up at her face and asked, "Are you in pain?" wiping tears from her cheek.

"No, just so happy," Stephanie said, as they moved as one, slowly, "Happy to be with you, to have you in my life."

"So am I, Babe," Ranger said leaning his head down, "I'm so proud of you Babe, for everything that you do, for the life you live, everything."

They kissed slowly, their lips barely touching at first, before they deepened the kiss. Their tongues swept through each other's mouths, and their hands went through thick locks. Mapping each other's body as if it would be the last time they would be together. The moved as one, communicated as one and when it was all over, they fell asleep wrapped in one another, not knowing where they ended or began.

The last conscious thought on Ranger's mind was that he never wanted to let his Stephanie go.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

It was a silent ride from Point Pleasant to the University of Princeton Medical School. Ranger woke Stephanie up at around 5, bundled her up in the Cayenne and was on the interstate. For most of the ride, Stephanie was fast asleep, leaning against the window of the Cayenne. Ranger could see the pain etched on her face, and it had him aching, he wanted to get rid of all the pain she was in. Even if it was only a little bit that he could take, he would gladly accept it. it wasn't fair, why did it have to be his Babe, his Stephanie to deal with something like this?

Ranger hoped that Stephanie would be strong enough to fight this cancer, she had to be, if not for herself, she had to be strong for Ranger.

Stephanie's check in time was 8:30 in the morning. Ranger pulled up to the entrance of the hospital at 8:20. Tank and Lester were waiting at the entrance as Ranger pulled the black Cayenne on the curb of the entrance way. He woke Stephanie up saying , in a soft voice, "Babe, we're at the hospital, time to wake up."

Stephanie let out a tiny groan, but woke up, nonetheless, letting Ranger help her out the Cayenne and over to Where Lester waited for them, with a wheelchair.

"Here is your chariot," Lester said with wink, helping Stephanie sit down in it, "We're rooting for you, Beautiful, you have a huge cheering squad behind you."

Stephanie gave Lester a tired smile as he moved out the way so Ranger could wheel her into the hospital, "Thanks Lester, it means a lot coming from you."

"You won't have to worry about be alone either," Lester said, "Every Rangeman will come and see you, we'll smuggle in sweets for you."

"Don't encourage him by saying anything," Tank said earning a laugh from Stephanie, "Come on, Steph, let's go get you settled in.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Your vacation is on the horizon, Jeanne," The woman said to the blond woman, who was busy writing something down in a notebook, "Where will you be spending it?"

Jeanne shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, I was thinking Germany, or Finland, but I got a call from some family in New Jersey, family function or some shit."

The two women were in a small green house, tending to five rows of potted plants. The plants were flourishing, with leaves of a deep red-ish purplish color. The woman was plucking leaves from the stems, sniffing at them and then writing something down in a notebook.

"Oh, well, family is quite important," The woman said turning to Jeanne, "Please write down that the THC levels of this plant is twice the normal level of a regular cannabis plant. It would seem I have almost perfected this strand of cannabis."

"I'll say, the contact highs I get from it, when you smoke it," Jeanne said, narrowing her eyes at the woman, "I feel like I'm back in college again."

"Oh, I hope you have wonderful memories from your young adulthood," The woman said, plucking a dried bud from inside a jar, "That is an important time, in a person's development."

Jeanne watched the woman take out her favorite long stemmed pip and pack it. She dodged the purple smoke that came from the woman's mouth as she inhaled from the pipe she lit. The woman turned to Jeanne and said, "Hmm….smooth fruity flavor, almost like apples and spices. Brain reaction to the THC is almost instantaneous, note that this would aid in pain treatment for people with debilitating aliments, illnesses and etcetera."

"The second hit Is not for science, now it's just for recreational use," Jeanne said, watching the woman take another puff from the pipe.

"It is all for science, and if I happen to get some enjoyment out of it, well, that means I have done something right," The woman teased, walking out the greenhouse, puffing on the pipe blowing purple smoke in the air, "Pardon me, I have to finish getting this tattoo colored in."

"Pothead," Jeanne hissed writing down what the woman told her to write down, before she left the greenhouse as well.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"We want to make you time here at the Edward & Marie Matthews Center for Cancer Care as stress free as possible," A nurse told Stephanie as they went down the hallway of the cancer center, "We have the latest state of the art equipment that specializes in the shrinkage and removal of cancerous tumors."

Stephanie nodded her head dazed, as she was given the tour of where she would stay until further notice. It was a nice area, just newly built. The medical school had to add this unit on for cancer patients, due to the rising demand for their advanced services. Stephanie and Ranger hoped that they would be able to do something about the cancers she had growing in her.

"Now, there is a nurses station for every three rooms, we now how hard it is on many cancer patients, so we assign a nurse to each patient, instead of having many patients to one nurse. It makes it easier for the staff, and easier on the patient, many of the staff in this unit, have battled cancer, or had loved ones who battled cancer, so they understand the patient's emotions."

"Did you have cancer?" Stephanie asked the older woman, earning a nod, "What kind? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh not at all, honey," The nurse said with a kind smile, looking at Ranger and Stephanie, "I had cervical cancer, I had to get my uterus and ovaries removed, but I beat my cancer."

The nurse led Stephanie and Ranger into a large area that was U-shaped around a vast large outdoor garden. There were windows everywhere, letting in natural sunlight. In the large area, 19 private pods filled it out. The nurse turned to Stephanie and said, "Your medic recommended that you be booked in the JoAnn Heffernan-Heisen Infusion Therapy Suite. It's semi-private, for you and a guest, and yet, it's opened, so you can connect with other patients, so you're not confide to just a hospital room, we will be going over, in depth, about your treatment plans, with your team."

"My team?" Stephanie asked looking over to the nurse who smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes, you have a doctor, a nurse, nutritionist, counselor and if you need it, spiritual guidance," The nurse said, leading Stephanie and Ranger down the hall to the patient rooms, "These services are also for your family and friends as well, and if you want to, we can sign you up for enrichment treatment as wells, such as art classes, yoga, pet therapy and aqua therapy, this center has its own indoor pool, and many patients enjoy the weightlessness that accompanies them, as they swim."

"These services are offered to friends and families as well, because, you too are also going through this as well, even if it is not you who has the cancer, cancer affects everyone, so we want you all to know that we support you and your family Stephanie." The nurse said stopping in front of room 516, "Here's your room, Ms. Plum, we'll get you settled in and then we'll get you ready for tests, and then we'll talk about your treatment regime."

The nurse opened the door to reveal a large hospital room. It was huge, it had a advanced hospital bed close to the large floor to ceiling windows, which overlooked the garden that could be seen in the U-shaped area. There was a small sitting area for guests and family, and a door led into a nice size bathroom, with had a stand up shower, a jetted tub, and a sink and toilet. Stephanie had never seen a jetted tube in a hospital.

"It's for when you're in pain, or for stiff muscles," The woman said with a smile, as Ranger and Stephanie entered the hospital room, "Your room is a suite, since your medic said you'd be having several visitors.

The nurse pointed to two black suitcases, which sat close by to a set of dressers, "Your bags are right there, why don't you change into something comfortable, and then we'll get you settled, in, I have to tell you that before your test, we'll be putting an IV into you, but we have medicine that we put on the skin to numb it, so you won't feel the needle prince you. I'll be back in about 45 minutes, we have to get testing done quickly so we can start treating you."

The nurse smiled at the two, and then left the room, closing the door with a soft click. Stephanie turned to Ranger and said, "Ranger this sounds so expensive, I don't have health insurance."

"Yes you do, you're still on Rangeman payroll," Ranger said to Stephanie, as he unpacked her bags, "So that means you still get benefits, and anyways, even if you weren't on Rangeman's insurance, I would have taken care of it, you don't need to worry about your bills, they'll be taken care of."

"Ranger, I don't want-" Stephanie started but Ranger shushed her with a kiss.

"DO a foolish man in a favor, and just get ready to take your tests," Ranger said softly. Letting go of Stephanie's face and smiling, "Ella packed you some comfortable clothes."

Stephanie nodded her head softly, and grabbed the pair of sweatpants and a white shirt. She got dressed and together the two waited for the nurse. Stephanie grabbed Ranger's hand and said softly, "Thank you, Carlos, for everything," earning a soft, "My, pleasure, Babe."

TBC…..

I love reviews! Thank you for the ones for the last chapters, your feedback is wonderful -Squee!- anyways, enjoy your day! :D


	5. I know You Can

I had a good birthday, thanks for the birthday wishes! now, chapter 5, enjoy!

Disclaimer in chapter 1

A Healing Hand

I Know You Can

Stephanie felt as though she was a pin cushion. After she had gotten dress in something comfortable, the nurse came back in with all the instruments to hook Stephanie up to an IV. Once in place, the IV would not be removed unless to change the catheter, to put in new tubing or unless Stephanie was discharged from the hospital. Once the IV was in her wrist, Stephanie wouldn't have to worry about taking pills for the pain, the medicine would be directly injected into her IV.

When the nurse was done hooking her up to the IV, she took several samples of Stephanie blood, some from minor veins, some from arteries and blood close to her lymph nodes.

"Why are you taking blood from such an odd spot?" Stephanie asked after she was done getting pricked near her armpit area, "I'm sure my wrist would have been fine."

"I needed to get close by to your lymph nodes, we need to make sure that the cancer hasn't spread there, if it has, then we'll have to be more aggressive in the way we treat it.' The nurse said patting Stephanie's arm, "Now, why don't we get you down to the CT scanner, and then we'll come back, and you can meet your team."

"I've already had a CT scan," Stephanie said, getting into the wheelchair that the nurse provided, "I don't think I need another one."

"This scan is going to be an in-depth one, it'll be about an hour long, we want to map out every inch of your body, to make sure that the cancer hasn't spread to any other major organs." The nurse said with a smile, wheeling Stephanie to the CT room, which was down the hall, "Now, I'm sure you'll have plenty of questions, and your team will answer them accordingly, now tell your husband we'll be back later, maybe if he's kind enough he'll unpack your clothes and personal items.

"Oh he's-" Stephanie started but Ranger shushed her with a kiss, "Don't let your thoughts dwell too long, Babe, I'll have all your things unpacked for you."

Stephanie nodded her head dazedly and the nurse let out a giggle, wheeling Stephanie out of her room.

"He's so handsome," Her nurse sighed, wheeling Stephanie down the hospital hallway, "They don't make them like that anymore, do they."

"No," Stephanie said, with a smile, "They sure don't."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Diesel ran a comforting hand over the woman's bare back, watching as she whimpered in her sleep. She may play the façade of a strong person, when she was awake, but at night, the nightmares blew the mask off her and reduced her into something else. This was the woman's true identity, a person who had more than her fair share of demons. She had gone through many things, throughout her life, and Diesel was lucky enough to see her fight them in her sleep.

"It's okay," Diesel murmured in her ear, soothing her, "They're just dreams."

"Sometimes," The woman said, her voice rough with sleep, "Dreams are worse than reality."

"Oh, are they?" Diesel asked, preening himself, "Well, what about me, I'm in your reality, and I happen to be one of your more sexier lovers."

The woman laughed softly and said, turning to Diesel, "Alexander the Great happened to be a passionate and intelligent lover, what can you do, Thaddeus, besides burp the Star Wars theme song?"

Diesel ran a hand over the woman's bare bottom and said, in a lustful voice, "I could…show you what I can do with a sinfully talented tongue."

"hmmm, that is such a tempting offer," The woman said pulling Diesel down for a kiss, "You should put all that you have in it, as well, you are trying to prove to me that you are talented, after all."

"Oh, I'll be sure to put in 200 percent," Diesel winked, pulling the covers over the both of them, "Of course, my penis is going to help, as well, it wouldn't be the same without it!"

"You are a sow, Thaddeus," The woman said, but none the less, let Diesel prove to her what he could really do.

He was quite talented indeed.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie was glad to be back in her hospital room, after spending three full hours under machines that hummed and made weird noises. Stephanie had to go get a CT scan, which took an hour and a Half, and during that whole hour and a half, Stephanie couldn't move, or else they would have to do it again. After the CT scan, she went to get an MRI. That took less time than the CT sca but she had to get more blood work done. They had been concerned with what they had found in the results from one of her tesy, and decided that they needed to do another test.

"Babe, I have lunch for you," Ranger said as Stephanie entered the hospital room with the same nurse that gave them the tour of the cancer center, "your nutritionist told me you needed a diet high in calcium, iron and protein."

Stephanie looked at the pizza waiting for her on the table in the sitting area of the suite, "And pizza fits the bill?"

"This one does," Ranger said as Stephanie sat down on one of the sofas, "There's a local pizza shop that makes organic pizzas, this one is a tuna teriyaki type of pizza with thick slices of fresh mozzarella, just because you're on a diet, doesn't mean you have to eat like you're on one."

Stephanie smiled and ate the pizza, it was pretty tasty. Even if it had green leaves and gunk on it. she couldn't taste it at all. She washed it all down with a white chocolate smoothie that came from a espresso bar in the hospital's cafeteria. Pretty tasty cafeteria food, if you asked Stephanie.

After they finished eating, the nurse came back into the room with a group of people. As It turns out the nurse who had been with them all the time, Nurse Rosa, was Stephanie's own nurse. Rosa had laughed and asked if Stephanie hadn't really thought that she wouldn't be her nurse. Stephanie had thought that Rosa would have given them a tour and got them settled in, before her own private nurse came to her.

"Your cancer is a special case, Ms. Plum," Rosa said, patting Stephanie's cheek kindly, "And we want to make sure you have the right nurse for you, which, not to blow my own horn, is me."

The next person in the group was Stephanie's personal doctor. Dr. Brittany Watson was the top leading doctor in cancers that affected the skeletal system of the body. She was a short woman with skin the color of dark chocolate and friendly pale grey eyes.. She would be over seeing Stephanie's treatment plans and surgeries.

Samuel Moore was Stephanie's counselor. He was an older man, maybe 60, with grey hair and soft green eyes. He had smile that was infectious and a personality that fit with his job well. He had talked to both Ranger and Stephanie about setting up meetings, both group and single sessions.

"Cancer affects everyone, and I'm always here, if you need an ear to talk to," Samuel had said with a smile to both Stephanie and Ranger.

The last person in the group was Stephanie's nutritionist, Freddie Young. She was the youngest out of the group with a bubbly personality. She had given Ranger a small scolding, when she saw the pizza box.

"Stephanie needs leafy greens, and calcium fortified foods!" She had said, shaking her head, "But, from the looks of it, Teriyaki Tuna, you hit the mark, I can't be too mad."

Samuel and Freddie left he room telling Stephanie that they would be back tomorrow to talk about making a plan for her. Ranger turned to Dr. Brittany and asked, "Doctor, you said you were concerned about the results from Stephanie's test, is there a problem?"

"Yes, it seems the cancer has spread from the bones, and into you Lymph Nodes, Stephanie," Dr. Brittany said, sitting beside Stephanie and placing a comforting hand on her arm, "Your Lymph Nodes are you body's immune system. With it being compromised, it makes you susceptible to illness and diseases."

Stephanie grabbed Ranger's hand and asked, in a small voice, "What's going to happen now, Doctor?"

The doctor squeezed Stephanie's hand and said, "Well, we're going to start you on Chemotherapy, to slow down, and hopefully stop the spreading of the cancer. Along with Chemotherapy, we'll start you with radiation treatments. We'll be doing a Systematic Radiation treatment on you, which means, instead of you sitting in a machine for periods of time, we'll be injecting you with the radiation medication. I know It sounds scary, but I assure you, nothing bad is going to happen. When we begin the radiation treatments, I'll go, in depth over the types of medication I'll be using, and the amount of dosage. I'll also go over the side effects of what's going to happen, when you go through treatment. For now we want to stop the spreading of the cancer through the lymph Nodes, and the secondary cancer that is occurring in your lower spine. The cancer in your lower spine could damage very important nerves."

"What happens if I don't respond to the chemotherapy or Radiation?" Stephanie asked, earning a head shake from the doctor.

"We'll cross that bridge, if, hopefully not, we cross it." Dr. Brittany said standing up, "I'm scheduling you for the start of Chemotherapy tomorrow, and radiation the day after tomorrow. Get some rest, and if you have any questions, Rosa and I will be happy to answer them."

Dr. Brittany smiled at the couple and left, along with Rosa, who told Stephanie that she would back at around eight to do more blood work.

"Why did you ask that question, Babe?" Ranger asked Stephanie, who stood up and walked over to her hospital bed.

"Because, what happens if I don't respond to the medication?" Stephanie asked Ranger, "I want to know my options. I've seen documentaries about cancer patients. It wasn't just cancer that ravaged their bodies, so did the chemotherapy and radiation. I just want to know what my options are if they don't work."

"Babe, they will work," Ranger said, going over to Stephanie and hugging her to him, "They will, I know you'll beat it."

"I don't know how you're trying to convince," Stephanie said softly, hugging Ranger, nonetheless, "You or me."

"I'm trying to make you see the strength you have, Stephanie," Ranger said softly to Stephanie, holding her face up and kissing her lips, "You can fight this, I know you can, you're a fighter, not a quitter, you never quit, so why start now."

"I'm not quitting Ranger," Stephanie said softly, looking up at the man, "I'm not, but the odds, are so stacked against me, no matter if they get the cancer out of me, the results from it and the chemotherapy and the Radiation, I'll never be the same again, can you live with that, Ranger? Can you live with a whole different Stephanie?"

"I can, and I will, it doesn't matter, you'll always be my Stephanie," Ranger said softly, wrapping Stephanie up in a tighter hug, "This room has a nice big TV and Ella packed Ghostbusters, You want to watch your favorite movie?"

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "Anything to get my mind off the fact that I'm in a hospital," watching Ranger go over to an armoire and open the doors to reveal a large flat screen.

Ranger popped the DVD in and go comfortable with Stephanie on the bed. He squeezed her gently and said, kissing her head, "I love you, Babe, and I'm very proud of you, you should always know that."

"I do know," Stephanie said, squeezing Ranger's hand, "I really do."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Jeanne smiled, looking down at the number on her phone screen. She always loved it when he called her. Jeanne answered the phone and said, breathlessly, "Hello you."

"Hell to you too, Jeanne" A man said a chuckle in his voice, "How's work? Ever since you went off to China, you've become much more secretive."

"My boss is a very private person, remember?" Jeanne asked the man earning a chuckle.

"Yeah, I do, I don't even know what you do, it's alright, are you coming here on your vacation?" The man asked, his voice full of hope.

"Yeah, I am, I already told you this, silly," Jeanne said with a giggle, "I'll be there in about three weeks, okay?"

"Okay, I could really use you Jeanne, there had been some things going on," The man sighed, before he said, "I could always go for one of your rants about anything."

"I can rant to you now, about my boss and her lover having sex in the other room." Jeanne huffed, hitting the wall beside her head, "They're really loud, shit!"

"Poor baby," The man said, before he sighed and said, "I have to go, Jeanne, someone is looking for me, and it seems important, I'll call you soon, have a good morning."

"Have a good night, love," Jeanne said, hanging the phone up. She leaned her head against the wall and sighed, "I can't wait for the next three weeks….."

TBC…..

Some reviews would be nice, I love your feedback! :D


	6. Stronger Than Medicine

Chapter 6! enjoy :D

Disclaimer in chapter 1 okay, cool!

A Healing Hand

Stronger Than Medicine

"I'm going to go over your chemotherapy, Stephanie," Dr. Brittany said to Stephanie, as Rosa took more blood samples from Stephanie, "We want to try this and a combination of radiation, to see if this affects any of the cancer cells. "

"What happens if it doesn't affect the cancer cells?" Stephanie asked ignoring the look Ranger gave her, "Please, don't tell me that I'll tell you if we get to that point. I need to know now, I don't want to be kept in the dark."

Doctor Brittany sighed, and said, gravely, "If chemotherapy and Radiation does not work, I would have recommended amputation."

Stephanie's eyes widened and she said, "If the treatments don't work, I'll have to lose my limbs?" gripping her arms.

"I would have recommended that radical treatment, if it wasn't for the fact that the cancer is not centralized and there are two forms of cancers," Doctor Brittany said softly, "We could replace the bones in the outer limbs with metal limbs, but that is extremely extensive, and a lengthy operation, and since the cancer has spread past the skeletal structure, we would still have to deal with the cancer."

"So, if we...can't do any of those treatments, what's going to happen then?" Stephanie asked, feeling Ranger's hand on her shoulder.

"Well, then…that means the cancer is too far advanced for medicine, and treatment," Doctor Brittany said looking at Stephanie, "We would still continue you on chemotherapy, to elevate the pain, and make plans for you to go into outpatient services, possibly a hospice of some sort."

"So, if the treatment doesn't work, I'll just be withering away and dying?" Stephanie asked, her voice tight, "And in pain, from the way you explained…"

"Yes which is why we're going to be aggressive about your treatment regime." Doctor Brittany said softly, taking out a folder, "for your chemotherapy, we are going to put you on two drugs; cisplatin, which will bind with the cancer cells DNA, and prevent it from replicating new cells, and we'll be giving you doxorubicin, which while prevent a certain enzyme from being created. This enzyme is important with the creation of new cancer cells. Of course we'll start you off with a low dose, today, and every day, for the next week, we'll raise the dosage. Then after the initial week, we'll start you giving it to you, every other day. We will be doing this for several weeks, maybe four or five months."

"What about the side effects?" Ranger asked the doctor, "Are they going to be worse, since you're giving Stephanie a higher dosage?"

"It's possible," Doctor Brittany said, looking over to the two, "You might have nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, low white blood count, which means you'll be more prone to illness and viruses, which means we'll be keeping a closer eye on you. You might also experience hair loss, due to the fact that the chemotherapy goes after fast growing cancer cells, and your hair cells are fast acting. If any other symptoms arise, please, tell me right away."

"Okay," Stephanie said softly, looking over to Doctor Brittany, "When do we start the treatment?"

"At around 11 this morning," Doctor Brittany said, "We'll be hooking your IV up to saline fluids and anti-cancer medicines."

"And the radiation treatments?" Ranger asked the woman, "When do they begin?"

"They begin tomorrow, after you finish with your chemotherapy." Doctor Brittany said, "The radiation will hopefully shrink the tumors in your bones down, and we could possibly go in, take out the cancerous tumors and fill the gaps we make in the bones. That will be later on down the road."

Stephanie grabbed Ranger's hand and said, "I think I can handle this, Ranger, I know I can with you."

"Babe, you have a strong support system behind you," Ranger said, leaning down and kissing Stephanie, "remember that."

Doctor Brittany smiled and said, "I'll be back soon to administer the medicine. You'll feel a cooling sensation, due to the fact that the medicine is colder than your blood temperature. If you want, we can set you up outside in the suites in a pod that overlooks the gardens."

"That will be nice," Stephanie said with a smile, "Can Ranger sit with me?"

"Of course, and during the treatment, your counselor will come and speak to the both of you," Doctor Brittany said, placing a hand on Stephanie's shoulder, "Your man friend is right, you have a whole support team behind you."

Stephanie blushed at the doctors words, and she gave her a finger wave as she left with Rosa. Stephanie sighed and leaned back in her hospital bed, looking over to Ranger who chuckled and said, "Man friend."

"What can't a girl have a friend who is a man?" Stephanie said earning a soft, "Babe," from Ranger, "I hope this works, Ranger, I don't like being sick. Cancer sucks ass…."

"It sucks even more ass, because it's you that's affected by it, Babe," Ranger said, helping Stephanie up, from her bed, "Now, if the lady would accompany me to the sitting area, where we will have an early lunch that Ella made for us. Freddie sent over a list of foods you should avoid, and foods you should eat more of."

Stephanie was quite pleased to see a pasta dish covered in a hearty tomato sauce. Ranger and Stephanie ate talking silently about trivial things, such as Rangeman, what was going on with Julie, everything but hospitals, cancers and death. The conversation kept Stephanie's mind off the fact that she would begin the long fight for her life soon. Ranger didn't want those dark thoughts looming in Stephanie's mind, the thoughts of her not getting better and the thoughts of death. She would get better ,she had to, Ranger didn't know what how'd he live without Stephanie in his life. It left a hollowed feeling in his chest.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"That feels weird," Stephanie said softly, looking down at the clear solution in the IV bag they connected to Stephanie's catheter, "It's like ice, going through my veins."

"I did warn you it'll feel a bit weird," Doctor Brittany said as Rosa put the final touches on the IV bag, "You'll get used to that feeling, now, this bag will be empty in about an hour and a half, if you feel anything strange or painful tell Rosa."

Doctor Brittany placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder and then left the little pod she and Ranger were seated in. Rosa gave Stephanie a quick lesson on how to use the chair she was seated in. The comfortable lazy boy type chair had three massaging modes, was able to create heat, if needed, and reclined to a comfortable angle, without putting stress on Stephanie's tubing. They got a perfect view of the small fountain that was surrounded by the whitest roses that Stephanie had ever seen. Occasionally, a small rabbit would hop out its home near the fountain. It was the perfect view, and the sun, though shining brightly through the windows, didn't shine directly into her face.

Stephanie turned to Ranger, who had set up shop in the pod. He was sitting in the guest chair, on his laptop, managing his business that way. Stephanie frowned and said, "Ranger, you shouldn't have to work from here, you don't need to waste our time here, when you can-"

"I'm going to stop you," Ranger said, looking over to Stephanie, "because, A; you're not a waste of time, B; I can run my business anywhere I want to, and C; I'm not leaving your side, until you are out of this hospital."

"Ranger, I could be here for a long time, are you sure you want to be here for that long?" Stephanie asked Ranger earning a nod, "Why?"

Ranger put his computer down and grabbed Stephanie's hand, "Because, I love you, Stephanie, I wasn't lying when I said it the first time, and I will be by your side, fighting alongside with you, should you ever feel weak and helpless, I'll be there to pick you up, if you should stumble and fall, Babe, everyone falls down, but not everyone has someone to pick them up. I'll make sure you don't face this alone."

Stephanie felt her throat close up, seeing all the emotion in Ranger's eye. Stephanie nodded her head, feeling tears prickle her eyes, "I love you too, Ranger, and I'm glad you're with me, helping me fight this, I don't know how I'll ever repay you…"

"No cost, Babe," Ranger said with a smile, before he leaned forward and kissed her, wrapping his hand over hers.

A few minutes later, Rosa was over in Stephanie's pod, her face etched with worry, "Goodness, I saw your heart rate sky rocketed and thought you were having some adverse effect from the medicine. Now I feel like a parent who has caught their child kissing on the front porch."

"I'm sorry ma'am," Ranger said to Rosa, giving her a wink, "I won't excite Stephanie like that again."

"Good, see to it that you don't," Rosa said with a flushed smile, "I thought she was having a heart attack of some sort."

Stephanie and Ranger laughed softly as Rosa left the pod, "I can't get you excited Babe, or else that Rosa will come and hurt me."

"You can hold my hand, that's enough excitement for me…"Stephanie said looking down at their joined hands, "I don't want you hurt."

Ranger kissed Stephanie one last time, before he went back to working on the laptop.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Samuel smiled at Stephanie and Ranger, pulling a rolling chair up to the couple in the pod. Before he sat down in the chair, he gave Stephanie a purple notebook with flowers on it.

"What's this for?" Stephanie asked giving the man an odd look, "Is it a manual?"

"Nope, it's for you to write your thoughts and ideas down, a journal I give to all the people I consul." Samuel said before he gave Ranger one too, "You're going to need one too, you may not have the cancer, but it affects you as well. If you want, you two can swap journals, or read them out loud. You don't even have to write in them, if you don't want to."

Ranger and Stephanie thank Samuel, who waved them both off and sat down in the rolling chair. He took out a notepad and said, "This is a perfect situation, I have the two of you together, let our first session be a group session, hopefully the next group session we have has more people in it. So, Stephanie, how are you feeling as of right now?"

"Nervous, and scared, I don't know," Stephaie said softly, looking down at the tubes going in her arms, "It's almost so surreal."

"I understand that," Samuel said softly, writing something down, "Most new patients who are being treated for cancer, have these feelings. What about you, Carlos? How are you feeling?"

Ranger gave Samuel a pointed look, earning a laugh from the man, "Come on now, Carlos, don't give me that look, it's okay to express your feelings around us, we won't tell anyone."

"I'm feeling like my Babe is going to beat this cancer, I'm feeling that Stephanie is strong enough to do this." Ranger said, earning a nod from Samuel.

"Optimism is a key role in a person's fight against cancer." Samuel said smiling kindly to the both of them, "sometimes, it's a better medicine than chemotherapy and radiation."

Stephanie sighed and looked down at her arms again, "I wish I could say the same, I've been having these thoughts, about me not surviving…."

"Can I tell the two of you something?" Samuel asked, earning nods, "Well, a few years back, I had cancer as well, stage four lung cancer, I had it for years, and didn't even know, I too thought I wasn't going to survive, I couldn't get on the lungs transplant and the treatments they had me on weren't working. I was told that I wasn't going to make it to my 50th birthday and so, I began to accept that I wasn't going to survive. It was so easy for me to give into these thoughts. As I lay in the hospital bed dying slowly, giving up, I had people around me, not giving up on me, pushing me on to live, to survive, they kept telling that I would beat this, that I would get over this cancer. If it wasn't for their optimism, I wouldn't be alive today. I had to push forward through my misery, to live, if not for me, but for my loved ones."

"How did you beat your cancer?" Stephanie asked, looking at Samuel who smiled.

"Stem cells, I had joined a clinical trial for Stem cell treatment, and it worked, cancer free for 5 years," Samuel said with a smile, "Optimism, Stephanie, is sometimes a stronger medicine, I would have never joined the group, if not for the ones around me, telling me that I would live."

Ranger grabbed Stephanie's hand and said, "You will live, Stephanie, I know you will."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Chemo wasn't so bad," Stephanie said with a yawn, as Ranger pushed her wheelchair back into her hospital room, "I just wished they stop pricking me every 20 seconds. I'm going to be filled with tiny holes by the end of this."

Ranger chuckled opening the door to Stephanie's room, "You'll get used to it, I remember in the army we had to do a round of smallpox vaccines, it was horrible."

"Bleh, I hate needles, I hope I get used to them soon," Stephanie said, yawning again, "I'm so tired, why am I so tired?"

"Doctor Brittany warned that you might be tired afterwards, the medicine went directly into your bloodstream, so side effects might hit you harder and quicker," Ranger said, helping Stephanie into her bed, "Take a nap, when you wake up, we'll watch a movie and eat some dinner."

"Okay," Stephanie yawned, her eyes closing before she laid her head on the pillow.

Ranger tucked Stephanie in and went over to the couch to do some more work. Stephanie would have chemo again tomorrow but it would be a bigger dose. Along with that she would start radiation as well. It would be an ever longer day, for the both of them. It didn't matter, as long as the cancer was gone.

He just wanted to see his babe happy, happy and healthy.

TBC…

(Reviews are loved thanks for the feedback :3)


	7. The Price You Pay

Work is hell on a girl, 12 hour days...shoot! D;

Anyways, here is chapter 7, enjoy. sorry if it's taking too long for me to post new chapters, I feel like i'm writing a research paper about cancer, I have so many health webpages up lol!

Thank you for your review, and someone asked me what Diesel was doing here, don't worry, it'll all be explained really soon.

Now, on with the story!

A Healing Hand

The Price You Pay

"Where's Stephanie?" Lula asked, peering her head into Stephanie's empty hospital room, "Ranger said that she'd be in here this morning…."

Tank looked into the empty hospital room as well, frowning. He had called Ranger early that morning, telling him that Lula and him would be coming, with gifts from the men at Rangeman. They had made her a basket full of sweets, and mindless entertainment that they knew Stephanie would like. Lula had spoke to Stephanie's family and they were making plans to take a day trip here on Saturday. Lula knew Stephanie would like to see her family, except for her mom, who was still moaning about how it was her hurting and not Stephanie.

What a conceited bitch.

Lula and Tank looked down the hallway, again and then spotted Ranger walking down it, wearing what appeared to be a dark blue vest. Tank rose an eyebrow at Ranger who slid the vest off and said, "Stephanie was getting radiation done, but she has to stay in the treatment room for a while, she's a bit radioactive."

"Radioactive?" Lula asked, her face paling, "What are they doing to Stephanie, are they poisoning her?"

"No, it's just the radiation treatment to make the tumors smaller, they're giving her a high dose, for both cancers." Ranger said, to Lula and Tank, "She was emitting some radiation afterwards, and they want to keep her in the room until she stops emitting radiation at such a high level."

"Oh, so I take it you were in there with her," Tank asked, earning a nod, "Lead vest?"

"I couldn't go in there with her, if I didn't wear it," Ranger said walking into the hospital room, Tank and Lula following him.

"How is she taking it?" Lula asked, sitting beside Tank in the hospital room, "I hope she's taking it well."

"She still has some doubts about beating her cancer, but we had a talk with her consouler, and it's getting through to her," Ranger said placing the lead vest on the arm of a chair, "I just need for her to see that she can do it, that she can beat this cancer."

"It's a hard thing to do, Ranger," Tank said softly, looking at his friend, "At the advanced stage that both cancers are at, and her survival rate, it's a battle to believe that you can survive, try to be in Stephanie's shoes right now, I imagine you might feel the way she does."

In all honesty, Ranger couldn't imagine how he would feel, if he was in the position Stephanie was in. He knew that he would fight, he was a fighter at heart, it was only natural. Stephanie however, didn't like to fight, but she didn't just lay down and take it either.

"She has us," Ranger said softly, looking out the hospital window and into the quaint garden, "she can win this battle with us."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie hated Radiation treatment. It was one of the worst things she had ever experienced. She would rather be shot, than go through it but she knew that she would have to, to get better. Doctor Brittany had been very detailed about the treatment and the side effects. Stephanie would most likely have side effects, due to the fact that she getting radiation treatment at such a high dose and she was also getting Chemotherapy done as well. Doctor Brittany told her what kind of medicine would be used and how it would be administered.

"The best course of doing radiation for you, Stephanie is systematic, which means, we'll be injecting you with liquid radiation medicine." Doctor Brittany told Stephanie as she was led to a set of double doors that had a radioactive warning label on it, and the phrase; "NO UNAUTHROIZED PERSONELLE BEYOND THIS POINT." "You'll be receiving radiation treatment for several weeks, four times a week, each session will last around two hours, and will be administered by Greg , the doctor who administers the radiation for the cancer center."

Doctor Brittany swiped her id card through a card reader and then opened the set of doors. Stephanie had wanted Ranger to be with her, for the whole time, but Doctor Brittany had told her that he was not allowed in the room while the radiation was being administered, he would have to wait for about an hour, or else he would be exposed to high levels of radiation. It made Stephanie nervous, as they walked by several doors which warnings about radioactive material and radiation poison.

"Here we are," Doctor Brittany said, pushing Stephanie in a simple looking room that only had a lounge chair, a flat screen TV and a side table in it, "This is where you'll be getting radiation treatment, Stephanie, there's a TV and everything set up for you as well."

The doctor who would administer Stephanie with the liquid medication, Greg Farrow, appeared in the room pushing a cart into the room. Greg flashed Stephanie a smile and said, "Hey, Stephanie, I'll be the one giving you your radiation treatment. I know Doctor Brittany went into great details about what kind of medicine we'll be using. We'll be using liquid Iodine 131, which will go after the cancerous cells of the bone and the lymph nodes. It will be administered via an IV for an estimated time of two hours. Now I gotta warn you, it looks like red gunk, but its helpful red gunk. Now afterwards you're going to be a bit radioactive, not to worry, it'll only be for a bit, but, no contact with anyone who is pregnant, under 18, the elderly and people with illnesses. We can't have radioactive woman using her powers on everyone."

That got Stephanie smiling, but it disappeared when Greg lifted a small box that had radioactive warning labels on it. Greg nodded to Doctor Brittany, who gave Stephanie an encouraging smile and left the room. Greg placed the box down and said, "I'm going to put a new catheter in you, Stephanie, this will be just solely for your radiation."

"Are you doing this by yourself?" Stephanie asked, looking at Greg who shook his head.

"No, I'm the senior Radiation oncologist, which is a nice way of calling me the radiation doctor, I have several radiation therapist under me, I was told by a Mr. Manoso that he would only let me give you your radiation. I am not by myself, I have several radiation oncologists on standby and your doctor is on the other side of this special room. This room shields the rest of the hospital from the radiation. It's three feet of solid concrete. No radiation is going through this," Greg said, placing the catheter in Stephanie's vein, "Now, it's going to feel weird, but if you experience any discomfort, or pain, notify me quickly, and I'll be here."

Greg placed protective gear on, and took a pouch of red liquid from out of the small box. He hooked Stephanie up to the pouch and said, "I'll be back in an hour, there's a button on the side of the lounge chair, press it if you need anything."

Greg slipped his protective gear off, and said, placing a hand on Stephanie's shoulder, "I understand what you're going through, my lover went through radiation treatment for a brain tumor, you're not alone in this ward."

Stephanie gave Greg a small smile, watching as he left the room. Greg was right, it felt weird, weirder than the chemotherapy. It was much colder, and red. She could feel it, going up her body, going through her veins. Hopefully it would be taking care of the tumors.

Hopefully….

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Jeanne, enjoy yourself," The woman said, hugging Jeanne tightly in the middle of the airport, "Do everything I would do."

"Uh, no," Jeanne said smiling at the woman, "Your forms of entertainment are a bit too extreme for me."

"Holy shit, Gina is being a Safety Sally," Diesel said chuckling behind his hand, "Geez, didn't you use to be a CIA agent or something?"

"Whatever, you dick," Jeanne said, before she turned back to her employer and said "I'll be back soon, hopefully you can get things done with this giant clown."

"I assure things will get done, I am putting the finishing touches on the latest plant hybrid." The woman said leaning against Diesel, "I will be going to Denmark soon to speak with their research hospital, I think I have mastered the plant. It will be better than opiate based medicine. Non habit forming and I have rid of the irritation one gets from inhaling it."

"Like you need more money," Jeanne said before she rounded on Diesel, "Jerk! Her financial advisor will be shipping her portfolio over, if those shares of Google aren't on that paper, tell him I'll find him."

"Sir yes sir!" Diesel said, before he waved at Jeanne, "Get on the damn plane Jeanne, before you're left in Hong Kong."

Jeanne gave her boss a hug and kicked Diesel before she walked over to get on the plane headed for the United States. The woman turned to her lover and said, "Thaddeus, I desire an ice cream cone, let us go get one."

"Yes Ma'am," Diesel said grabbing his lover's waist and leading her out the airport, "I think chocolate sounds great."

Diesel led the woman through the busy streets, mindful of everything. His lover hated to go out into any city, preferring the safety of the small village in the mountains. She was a reclusive, and hardly left the village, unless she had a client. Now a days, however, clients were few and in between. The last client she had had been the first one in nearly five years. How Diesel met this amazing woman was still a mystery to him. She was wonderful, beautiful everything he could hope for.

"Thaddeus, you are lost in your thoughts again," The woman said turning to Diesel a frown on her face, "You should really be paying attention to-"

Diesel looked up, hearing loud screeching noises. He turned just in time to see the large delivery truck go through the red light, going through the intersection they were crossing. Diesel eye's widened and he tried to grab his lover, but she just merely pushed him out the way. It was like slow motion, Diesel was pushed out the way, just as the delivery truck smashed into his frail looking lover, sending her flying several feet in the air, before landing on the street, her head bouncing on the hard asphalt. She slid a several yards on her back, before she lay still on the street, not moving, her head twisted in an odd position.

Diesel ran over to her, his eyes wide. There was a crowd growing now, and Diesel knew that they wouldn't get out of here easily.

"She's dead!" Someone said loudly, "You've killed her!"

Diesel let out a noise lifting the woman's body in his arms, ignoring the sounds that the crowd made. He turned and pushed past several people, heading to an alleyway. Once he was in the safety of the alleyway, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, ending up in the place that his lover called home. Just as he did, the woman in his arms let out a pained groan, and her head twisted from the odd angle back to its original position. Torn skin and broken bones were made right again and any blood on the woman turned to dust and slid off her body.

Diesel placed the woman on her feet and asked, "Are you alright?" holding her waist tightly, afraid she might fall

The woman nodded her head, rolling her head, "I am fine, though it has been awhile since something like that has occurred. Very painful indeed."

Diesel had witness that before, when they had first started dating. His lover had gone into a store to pick up some items, while he waited outside. A crazed person came in, and blew up the whole place. There were no survivors, or that was what Diesel thought, until he went in and found his lover leaning up against a wall, half her body blown away. It had been a morbid sight, watching as her body regenerated herself until it looked as though she had never been blown up. When Diesel asked about it, she had simply told him that it was the price she was paying for something that had happened to her.

The woman made a sound and said, "I really wanted ice cream too, I guess I have to settle for chocolate cake."

"We don't have chocolate cake," Diesel said looking at his lover who smiled coyly and batted her eye lids at him, "Oh, I see, well, I'll go make it, I guess."

"Thank you!" She squealed, hugging Diesel, who sighed and led the way into the kitchen, "I get to lick the bowl, right Thaddeus?"

"Right…."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Jeanne broke out in a grin, as she walked out the airport and over to the person who was looking right at her, a smile on their face as well. Jeanne ran the last few feet and jumped into waiting arms, saying, "I missed you so much!"

Lester smiled broadly, hugging Jeanne tightly, "I missed you too, Jeez, there's some much going on that I have to tell you, Gina."

"Santos, before you tell me anything, you should feed your lover," Jeanne said wrapping her arm around Lester's arm, "I'm starving and could go for some waffles."

"There aren't any waffles in China?" Lester asked, grabbing the cart that had Jeanne's baggage, "Torture, pure torture…"

"You can tell me everything after we eat and have sex." Jeanne said getting into Lester's black sports car.

"That sounds like a great idea," Lester said, putting Jeanne's things in the trunk, "Come on, I saw a Waffle House a few miles down the road."

"It's good to be back in New Jersey," Jeanne said with a smile.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie waved goodbye to Tank and Lula, before she leaned back in her hospital bed, bone tired. Ranger sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "Are you alright babe?"

"Yeah, just really tired," Stephanie said leaning into the hand Ranger placed on her face, "I think the chemotherapy and radiation are working. I'm supposed to feel worse, before I get better, right?"

"I hope so," Ranger said wanting nothing more than to kiss Stephanie but the doctor would not allow it, Stephanie still had lingering radiation in her system, "Babe, let's get married, after you're cured."

Stephanie smiled and said, "I love that idea, Ranger, I want a wedding on the beach, surrounded by my loved ones, and hopefully with a full head of hair."

They both chuckled at Stephanie's statement, but they knew it would happen, that Stephanie would start losing her hair. She had been brushing her hair earlier that afternoon and found clumps of it in her brush. It was because of the high dosage of chemo and radiation that the hair loss was happening so fast. She rather be bald and healthy than have a full head of hair and full of cancer.

"We'll have the wedding at Point Pleasant," Ranger said tracing Stephanie's lips, "We'll wear floral Hawaiian shirts and hula girls will be your bride maids."

Stephanie smiled and said, "That sounds like a plan, Ranger," Stephanie said, her eyes drooping closed, "I want doughnuts, instead of a cake…."

"I'll give you all the doughnuts you can handle, Babe," Ranger said tracing Stephanie's closed eyes, watching her sleep, "I'll give you everything…."

TBC….

If you could be so kind as to live a review, I love your feedback! thank you! :D


	8. Unexpected Savior

Chapter 8, enjoy!

Disclaimer in first chapter, okay, bye!

A Healing Hand

_Unexpected Savior_

Stephanie hated being sick. It was the worse feeling ever. She hated when her chest was all congested, and her nose running. She hated being achy and feverish. She hated being sick, period, but most of all, she hated being sick, with cancer.

Valarie and the girls had come to see her, on a non-radiation treatment day, so they all wouldn't be exposed to radiation. It had been a wonderful time, the girls went to join an art sessions and came back with several pictures for Stephanie to put up on the walls of her hospital room. Ranger took them down to get frozen yogurt down at the hospital cafeteria. Stephanie hadn't had fun like this in two weeks, when Lula, Mary Lou, and Connie came to her hospital room and they had a 'girls day.'

The doctor had warned her loved ones that they should not come and see her while they were sick, Stephanie's immune system was compromised, and she really couldn't even fight off a common cold. Mary Alice began to sneeze in the middle of their visit, but Valarie had said it was her allergies. Turns out Mary Alice caught a cold from one of friends, and now, Stephanie caught it as well.

Doctor Brittany frowned, looking at Stephanie's body signs, "You have a high fever, and your breathing is watery, I'm going to get you down to the x-ray lab to check your lungs, if they're full of liquid, you might have pneumonia.

"Pneumonia?" Stephanie croaked, too weak to even lift her head, " Is that going to affect my treatment."

"No, you'll just be in your room, getting treatment, we can't expose you to other patients, so you'll be getting you chemo here, and when you are transported to get radiation treatment, you'll wear a mask to prevent germs from spreading."

Stephanie watched as Rosa put another bag of liquids up and inject medicine into her IV, "This is going to help you fight off whatever illness you have Stephanie, it's a clinical trial thing, but it should work for you, it does what your lymph nodes should do, fight off illnesses."

Stephanie shivered under the pile of blankets and said, "I hope so, I hate being sick."

"Babe," Ranger said, walking into the hospital room, with a container, "Ella made you some chicken noodle, you need something in you, can you try to eat?"

"I don't know," Stephanie said, "My stomach hurts, and it's not from the chemo either."

Doctor Brittany placed a hand on Stephanie's covered shoulder and said, "It's the illness, try to keep something in your stomach, and in an hour, we'll get you down to get a chest x-ray."

Stephanie nodded her head and sat up, or tried to, Rosa had to help her up. Doctor Brittany left telling Stephanie to press the nurse button, if any problems should arise. Ranger sat down on the side of Stephanie's bed and helped her eat a few spoonful of Ella's wonderful soup. She took a few sips of hot tea with honey and then lay down, falling asleep instantly.

Ranger hated to see Stephanie this sick, and it wasn't like she was sick, no, she was deathly ill. She was so pale, almost white, weak as a newborn kitten. The chemo, radiation and the cancer were ravaging her body. She had lost so much weight, always tired, and her hair was falling out at a fast rate. Ranger didn't know what to do, this woman, who was always so strong and brave. This woman, who he loved with all his heart and soul needed him more than ever, and he did not know how he could.

Ranger set the tray of food to the side, and walked over to the pull out sofa he had been calling home for the last month. He hated this feeling so much, he had all the power in the world, and yet, he couldn't help Stephanie in beating this cancer. Stephanie counted on him, depended on him to help her, but he couldn't fight this battle for her. he wasn't her Batman, he was just Bruce Wayne, a plain man, who plays as a super hero to beat evil.

The confidence Ranger had in Stephanie beating this cancer was shaking, just slightly, and that's what scared him.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Jeanne let out a sound of contentment, laying on Lester's chest. It had been so long since the two of them had been together, not since two months ago, when Lester took off for three weeks to be with Jeanne in China. Their relationship began as an accident. Jeanne had been driving down the street in Trenton, minding her own business, when something hit the back of her car, hard. it had turned out to be Lester, who wasn't paying attention to the road, too busy with trying to fit something back in his car. Lester had apologized, and they exchanged information, and Lester gave Jeanne his number, telling him to call him, with a wink.

At the time Jeanne hadn't known what Lester meant by that wink, and called him a few days to give him some more information about her car. Lester asked her out on a date, and Jeanne had accepted. She didn't know why she accepted his date offer, she was going to say no. needless to say they had sex that date night, and the rest was history, they've been together ever since.

"I've missed you, Jeanne," Lester said softly, sitting up and looking at Jeanne, who smiled softly, and leaned up and kissed him, "There's been so much going on here in Trenton, I need to tell you some things."

"What's going on?" Jeanne asked, sitting up beside Lester, "Did Ranger finally get his head out his ass and tell Plum that he lurves her?"

Lester sighed and looked down at Jeanne. He gave her a sad smile and then said, "Jeanne, Stephanie has cancer, stage four primary bone cancer at that…."

Jeanne paused looking at her lover, "What? Plum has cancer? When? How did this happened?"

Lester rested a calming hand on Jeanne's shoulder and said, "About a month ago, she hadn't been feeling well, and they found tumors in her bones. She's been in the hospital ever since, and Ranger called me last night, while you were sleeping, she has a severe cold and it's likely she'll not get rid of it."

Jeanne shook her head, looking down at her lap, "That poor woman, I may not like Plum, but I'd never wish that kind of misery on her, ho are her chances of surviving looking?"

"Jeanne, she only has a five percent chance of surviving and beating this cancer," Lester said softly, looking at Jeanne, "if she doesn't respond to the Chemo and radiation soon then she'll be dead in three months."

Jeanne shook her head again and said, "I-I need to see her, Lester, please, take me to her, I need to see for myself."

Lester nodded his head and said, "Okay, we'll go on Friday. Hopefully she'll be up to receiving visitors of your sort."

Lester stiffened up, knowing he said the wrong thing. Jeanne puffed up and gave Lester a look that could murder, "What do you mean, My sort?!"

"I mean, You don't like Stephanie, and the feeling is kinda the same with Stephanie, I mean, you don't want to hinder her healing with you making fun of her."

"I'm not going to make fun o that woman," Jeanne said glaring at Lester, "shit, I have a heart, I'm dating you, right?"

"You don't have to say it like that," Lester pouted, before he scooped Jeanne up in his arms and kissed her deeply.

"I want to go see her," Jeanne said softly, her eyes bright with passion, "I know what's it like to deal with illnesses, I lost a friend to a disease , maybe I can help out in anyway."

Lester smiled and said, "Jeez, this side of you, Jeanne, is very adorable, Friday, we'll go see Stephanie, it's a date!"

Jeanne smiled and said, "I love it when we go out on dates."

Leter melted at Jeanne's smile, "yeah me too, I just want Stephanie to be alright, you know, Jeanne?"

"I do Lester, I want her to make it through this too." Jeanne said, a plan formulating through her mind.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie held onto to Ranger, staring blankly outside the window of her hospital room. Rosa was standing beside her bed, trying to tell her something soothing, but it had gone through one ear and out the other one. Doctor Brittany spoke softly to Ranger, her soft words the only words she had comprehended.

"The Primary Cancer has spread to the lungs and kidneys. The secondary cancer is spreading up the spine. The radiation and the Chemo have not been working, the tumors seem to be insensitive to the treatment, we could possibly…."

Stephanie wanted to scream and shout, but she had no strength to do so. They had found the tumors growing in her lungs, during an X-Ray. That led to them doing a whole CT scan of her body and blood work. The results were grim, and it had Stephanie losing hope. She was tired mentally and physically, more mentally than physically. Maybe she would let this cancer run its course and then see what lies ahead when she died.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ranger asked, his voice tight "Clinical trials, experiments, anything?"

"The clinical trials or treating bone cancer have all their slots filled, there is a possibly we could try a new Chemo regime, maybe a new form of radiation…."

"Can I think about this?" Stephanie asked weakly, looking up, "I want to mull it all over, just for tonight, please."

"What's there to think about?" Ranger asked, looking down at Stephanie, as Rosa and Doctor Brittany left, giving the couple privacy, "we'll start you on something new, something stronger, potent-"

"I don't want to," Stephanie said softly, looking down, "Ranger, I want to just let this cancer run its course and then die, that seems like the best thing to do. I'm tired, mentally and physically, Samuel and I talked about this before, about me dying, he told me that it happened sooner or later and that the option was still in my hands. Maybe I want to die, Ranger. The Radiation and Chemo, it's destroying my body as well as the cancer cells, please can we just think about this?"

"Babe, Stephanie, I've never known you to give up so easily, please, don't give up now, please Babe," Ranger said softly, hugging Stephanie, "You have to live, for me, please."

Stephanie shook her head softly, and said, "I don't think I can, Ranger, I really don't," sliding out of Ranger's embrace to lay on her bed, "I'm going to go to sleep, this permanent cold is taking all my energy…."

Stephanie fell asleep quickly, leaving Ranger to deal with the emotions that he never had training to handle.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Jeanne let out a noise through her nose, looking over to Ranger, who seemed like death himself, "So, she told you that she wants to die, eh? What do you think?"

"I want her to live," Ranger said softly, looking over to Jeanne, who nodded her head, "I want her to smile again, I want to see her thrive."

Jeanne nodded her head again, and said, "And the cancer is spreading, the treatments not working, you know, cancers are mutating, turning into super cancers that can withstand all the radiation and chemicals you attack it with…"

"Your point Jeanne?" Ranger asked, turning to Stephanie's hospital room seeing her and Lester talk softly about something trivial.

"Some people don't win the fight against cancer," Jeanne said softly, looking at the man, "Because the ammunition they have isn't the right one."

"So, the chemo and the radiation…." Ranger started his eyes narrowing….

"Were like band aids to a paper cut, something to cover it…." Jeanne said softly, getting up from her perch on the garden bench, "But not a real cure, come on Manoso, let's go see our other halves."

Ranger and Stephanie may not have the right ammunition, but Jeanne knew someone who did, and Jeanne would have to call in on a big favor for them to do so.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Lester had never seen Jeanne so colorful, well, except in the bed, but she wasn't in the bed now. She was walking around his bedroom, talking on her phone her voice soft and fast. He could only pick up a few words here and there.

"I know….Strict screening….you don't accept money…fuck Denmark….I've never asked you for anything like this….okay…tomorrow…great…see you then…."

Jeanne hung the phone up and said to Lester, "Manoso owes me big time, major big time! You better tell him that, Lester, okay, call him and tell him now!"

Lester shrugged his shoulders and asked, "why am I doing this?" taking his phone out and calling his cousin.

"Because, I just give Stephanie the right ammunition, that's why, duh!" Jeanne said before she walked over to his bedroom door, "We'll have guests in the morning, Lester, I'll go put fresh sheets on the bed."

Lester watched as Jeanne left the master bedroom, "I have other bedsheets?"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

The woman sighed, hanging up her phone. She turned to Diesel, who smoked contently from the long stem pipe the woman herself used on a regular basis, "Thaddeus, I know you had your heart set for Denmark, but plans have changed, we are going to the United States."

Diesel blew purple smoke from his nose, and asked, "For what, baby?" turning to look at his lover.

"A potential client," The woman said, with a smile, "Please, pack enough of that wonderful plant to fill a tour bus, this would be the perfect time to see if it works as well as it taste."

Diesel smiled and said, "Ma'am yes ma'am!" getting up from the large bed to finish packing, "We do we leave?"

"Tonight, in five hours," The woman said, sliding out her bed to pack as well, "I hope you are up for some continental jumping…."

TBC….

(There's the unexpected Savior; our own Jeanne Ellen! Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! thank you! :D)


	9. Paid In Full

Chapter 9, enjoy!

WARNING: emotional-ish, i had a few tears in my eyes at the end of this chapter ;3;

A Healing Hand

_Paid In Full_

Lester nearly jumped out his skin as two people appeared in the middle of his living room, in a cloud of smoke, just like fucking genies! I was around six in the morning and Lester had been up doing his morning exercises. He had just come of the shower and was on his way to his kitchen to make breakfast. The people appearing in his home, however, stopped that from happening.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Lester wheezed, looking at the two, his hand clutching his chest, "How'd you get in here?!"

The two people, a man, and a woman, turned to Lester and the woman said, "We are friends of Jeanne, is it possible to see her?"

"Oh, so…you're the people that Jeanne was speaking about, yeah, I'll wake her up," Lester said turning to walk up the stairs of his home, "Uh…say, how'd you…"

"Can't tell you," The man said with a smile, "secrets and all that shit."

"I hope you understand, Jeanne's secret lover," The woman said with a small giggle.

"sure, yeah, I know," Lester said walking up the stairs to his bedroom, "Jeanne! Your friends are here."

There was a loud shuffle upstairs, and some swear words, before Jeanne appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking down at the couple, "Jeez, Diesel, woman, I was expecting you last night."

"Yes, well, things came up and I had to fix some problems," The woman said walking over to Jeanne and grabbing her hand, "Now, you shall feed me, and then we shall talk about your request, it must be a big thing, since you are asking me to do you a favor."

Lester made them all breakfast, which consisted of bacon, eggs, waffles and toast. After they ate, Jeanne led them into Lester's living room and she recanted what Lester told her and what she saw for herself.

"She's dying, and I want you to help her out, I may not like her, but, you have the tools to heal her," Jeanne said to her employer, who was leaning causally on Diesel, listening to what Jeanne told her, "Please, I've never asked for something like this before."

"I know, which is why I shall go and speak to this woman myself, before I say I will or will not do this," The woman said standing up, "What is the woman's name?"

"Stephanie Plum," That made Diesel jump up and look at Jeanne, his eyes wide.

"Steph's dying of cancer?!" Diesel said, looking at the woman, "Holy shit, why didn't we find out about this before? You have to help her out baby, she's a good friend of mine, she has to live."

The woman waved off Diesel's pleas and said, "Thaddeus, I am not the one who can make that call, now, we are all fed and ready to go, I would like to go to the hospital and see this woman, let us go, we must make haste, I need to save what is left of her."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I'm not going to do anymore treatments," Stephanie said, looking at Ranger, "I can't take it anymore, I just want to die."

"Babe…"

"This is my call," Stephanie said, sitting up, pausing to cough into a tissue, wiping the blood from her mouth, "I just want to die in peace."

"I'm not giving up on you, Stephanie," Ranger said, going over to Stephanie and hugging her tightly, "Please, don't give up on yourself."

"I'm not giving up on myself, I think this is the best course of action, for me to just die." Stephanie said, hugging Ranger back, "Please, I'm in so much pain, just…let me go…"

Stephanie and Ranger looked up, hearing a soft knock on the door o Stephanie's hospital room. Ranger let go of Stephanie and walked over to the door and opening it, to reveal a frail looking woman, she couldn't have been older than maybe 17 or 18 she looked as though she was just getting over something herself. She wasn't tall, maybe 5'3 with long black hair that was up in a braid that hung over her shoulder. She had milk chocolate skin, and soft amber eyes that seemed to peer right into your soul. She wore a blue flannel shirt, a pair of blue jeans and black slip on shoes. As Ranger looked the woman over, he saw black ink at the nape of her neck, revealing that the woman had a tattoo, the rest was hidden by the shirt she wore. The woman gave Ranger a look and then said, "Hello, this is Stephanie Plum's room, yes?"

The woman's voice did not match her body, it was full of age, maybe she was older than she looked. Ranger inclined his head and said, "Yes, why do you want to know?"

"Someone has requested I see Stephanie Plum, in the hopes that I can cure her of whatever aliment she has," The woman said looking up at Ranger, "Is it possible that I can talk to her?"

Ranger gave the woman a look and said, "I don't think that would be a good thing for you to do, she and I are having a discussion about her starting another round of chemo and radiation."

"I will talk to this woman, and you will not stop me," The woman said, pushing past Ranger and walking into the hospital room.

The woman paused, seeing Stephanie on the bed coughing softly, "Man, how long has she had these episodes of coughing?"

"…" Ranger gave the woman a look, earning a look himself. The woman turned to Ranger and said, "I asked you a question, and I expect an answer…..now, how long has she had these episodes of coughing?"

"A week, ever since she caught a cold," Ranger grounded out, giving the woman a hard look, "Why do you want to know?"

"Because, I am curious," the woman said, going over to Stephanie and rolling up the sleeves of her flannel shirt, "hmmm….blood in the mucus, not a good sign."

The woman pulled up Stephanie's shirt, ignoring her coughing protest and placed a small hand on her back, in the area of her lungs, "The coughing need to go, be at rest, you restless lungs."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie felt a small cold hand on her back, small fingers splayed over her heated skin. She could feel coldness, seeping into her skin, running over her chest area, into her lungs, it felt as though she was breathing in refreshing cold air, and it was soothing her irritated lungs and making the coughing stop.

Stephanie felt the cold hand leave her back and the woman pulled her shirt back down. She walked in front of Stephanie's bed and asked, "Feeling better, the coughing fits will not return."

"How?" was all Stephanie could ask, earning a chuckle from the woman.

"I am just a person who cures people of their aliments, the method is a bit unorthodox, but it does get the job done, if I do say so myself, I have healed many people with different level of aliments and diseases, you will not be the first, I assure you."

Stephanie looked over to the woman and then asked, "Are you going to cure me of these cancers? The Chemo and the Radiation aren't working, how can you do it, if the medicine couldn't."

"Because," The woman said looking down at her fingers, "I do not partake in the usage of such chemicals and radical medicine, all I use are my hands. If you should agree to me healing you, you agree to stop taking all forms of medication and would allow me to use some of my own 'medicine.'

Ranger and Stephanie did no miss the quotation marks in that statement. Stephanie looked at the woman and then said, "How much or your services?"

"I do not accept money, I accept other forms of payments. If you accept my services, you will not be the one paying for them, Madam Plum, it will the man over there," The woman said pointing to Ranger who gave a long stare, "So, do you accept my services, the hospital may have only given you a 5 percent chance of survival, but I will guarantee you a 150 percent chance of survival."

Stephanie bit her lip, looking at the strange woman in front of her, she liked her chances of survival with this woman, but could she trust her? Stephanie really didn't know, but she would learn to trust this woman. She was her only chance now.

"I accept your services, please," Stephanie said softly, looking at the woman and earning a nod, "When do we start?"

"As soon as I get my payment from that man," The woman said, walking out the hospital room, "Until then, you will carry on, hopefully I get the payment soon."

'Death lingers in her room,' the woman thought walking over to the wall across from the hospital room to wait for the man.

She wasn't kept waiting. Ranger walked over to her and asked, "What do you want from me? you said it yourself, you don't accept money."

"No, I don't, I accept other methods or payments," The woman said looking at Ranger, "This will be a big payment, since death lingers too close to Stephanie."

Ranger's heart jumped to his throat at what the woman told him, "The doctors said three months…."

"The doctors gave you an estimated time, her death will come sooner than expected." The woman said, hearing Jeanne, Lester and Diesel walk over to the two.

"How soon will she die," Ranger demanded from the woman. When she didn't answer him he roared, "HOW SOON DAMN IT?!" punching the wall the woman leaned one, missing her head by mere inches, "TELL ME DAMN IT."

"Ranger…calm down man, Stephanie doesn't need to hear this, you have to be strong." Lester said going over to the man.

Diesel grabbed Lester, pulling him back and saying, "stay back man, just let her work her magic."

The woman looked up at Ranger and said, "How soon? Give or take a week, there is another illness running through her body, a staph infection, and with her cancers and cold, she will not make it to see next Saturday."

Ranger shook his head and said, "no, I don't believe you, you're lying, damn it you're lying to me!"

"Have you shed a tear through all of this?" The woman asked looking up at Ranger "Have you cried, or have you been bottling it all up?"

"I can't cry," Ranger said softly, looking at the woman with disbelief, "I need to be strong, Stephanie can't see my weakness…."

"Crying and showing emotions like sadness are not form of weaknesses, Carlos," The woman said, grabbing Ranger's hand, "It makes you even stronger, because you can show them. you poor thing, you've been shouldering all of this, and not expressing it."

Ranger felt his resolve shake, the control he had for so long, cracking quickly, "Please just save her, I can give you anything you want, Money, cars, clothes, jewelry!"

"I do not desire nor do I need any of those things you offer me," The woman said softly, turning her face from Ranger's broken look, "I only accept other types of payments."

The woman felt Ranger grab her shoulders and pull her to him. She felt his body tremble, and then shake. His arms wrapped around her frame and then she felt his chest heave. Soft sobs filled the silent hallway as Ranger let his shields down and cried in the woman's hair, begging her to save the one person he loved with all his heart. Over and over again, all he said was, "Please save her, please save her…"

The woman pulled out of Ranger's grasp and then looked up at the man. She placed a hand on his tear stained cheek and said, "Payment paid in full, I shall save the one you love the most, Jeanne, come along, we have much to do, and much less time to do it with."

The woman paused and then said with a smile, "Be sure to thank our lovely Jeanne, she asked for a huge favor she will be unable to pay in her lifetime.

Jeanne jumped out of her dazed state and then ran over to the woman who motioned for Diesel to come over to her as well. The woman turned to Diesel and said, "Please, be a dear and retrieve my suitcase, and my pipe."

"Yes ma'am," Diesel said, kissing the woman on her lips, "You okay?"

"Yes, I am, now hurry along!" The woman said, swatting at Diesel's bottom, "Jeanne please go get us some food, I would like something with lamb and potatoes, and chocolate for dessert, make it a cake."

Ranger grabbed the woman by her arm and asked, "What's your name, you know mine and Stephanie's but we don't know yours."

"You may call me by the name everyone calls me; Heidi." The woman said, before she slipped out of Ranger's grasp, once again and then entered Stephanie's hospital room, "Stephanie, tomorrow, you shall be leaving this hospital and going somewhere else, I hope you are ready, this will be the most demanding ordeal we both will go through."

Ranger stood in the open doorway, watching Heidi speak softly to Stephanie, her small hands motioning with her speech. He turned to Jeanne when she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Are you going to be alright, Manoso?" Jeanne asked, holding onto Lester's hand, "It's not every day a mercenary cries like a baby."

"I'll be fine, Jeanne, I can never thank you enough for what you did, do you think she'll really cure Stephanie of this illness?"

"Think? I know she will, she's just like our Diesel here; she's something else, she'll save Stephanie and make her all better, I've never seen or heard about anyone dying under her care, trust me, Stephanie's in the most dependable hands you'll find on this planet."

Ranger sighed, wiping more tears from his eyes, "She has to be, she's the only one who can save Stephanie now."

TBC…

(Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! 8^D)


	10. Capable Hands

Chapter 10, enjoy!

disclaimer in chapter 1

WARNING: A certain jerk shows up B

A Healing Hand

_Capable Hands_

Stephanie watched, with unwavering attention, as Heidi slung the battered black suitcase, the one Diesel gave her, on top of the coffee table in her hospital room. Heidi took out an ancient looking key and unlocked the suitcase. She took out a heavy ancient looking book, an ink well and a golden feathered quill. Along with all these items, Heidi took out a pair of small golden glasses, which she put on and opened the faded leather covered book.

Jeanne thanked Rosa for giving her Stephanie's files and then walked over to where Heidi sat, writing in the huge book. Heidi looked up at Jeanne and asked, "Patient's name?" dipping the quill in the inkwell.

"Stephanie Plum," Jeanne said, sitting beside Heidi, earning a sound.

"Age?"

"32."

"Weight?"

"112 pounds."

"Height?"

"5'9 and three quarters."

"The Aliments?"

"Primary Bone Cancer, secondary bone cancer, both at Stage 4, common cold, and Staph infection from radiation catheter."

"And the medications she is on?"

"Morphine drip, estimated 500 grams every ten minutes, Iodine 131, radiation treatment, 2000 grams, cisplatin and doxorubicin, chemotherapy, 2000 grams each."

Heidi looked up at Stephanie, and then said, "Goodness, and you are still able to sit up? They had you on potent drugs, well, I shall make sure you will not need those drugs any longer."

Stephanie let out a sound and asked, "How did Ranger pay you, since you don't accept money."

Heidi looked up from writing in her tome, and then said, "He cried, that is all I wanted from him, his tears. He had placed a mask on, trying to protect you and himself, it caused him more harm than good, keeping emotions bottled up like that does not help your health."

Stephanie could not believe it, this small, frail and sickly looking woman made a bad ass mercenary cry, like a baby. Stephanie shook her head and said, "He cried, I can't believe it."

"Oh believe it, he cried for you Stephanie my dear, those tears were from a man in so much pain, because he cannot do anything for the one he loves, nor could he take away the pain you are in." Heidi said softly, pulling her glasses off to look at Stephanie, "That is true love Stephanie, savior it."

Heidi got up and walked over to Stephanie, placing a cold hand on Stephanie's hand. Stephanie let out a sound, feeling the cold seep through her skin, soothing her aching bones. Heidi smiled and said, "True love is such a rare gift, I have lived long enough to know the difference between what people perceive as true love, and what true love really is."

Heidi turned and walked away from Stephanie. She turned to Jeanne and said, "Jeanne, be a dear and go check on Thaddeus, Lester and Carlos down at the cafeteria, I would like some private time with Stephanie."

Jeanne nodded her head and then turned to leave the hospital room. Heidi closed the door and locked it. she turned to Stephanie and said, with a smile, "I thought we would have some private time, just between us women."

Heidi pulled out the pipe that Diesel bought smiling softly. She took out a small box with a hinged box and opened it, to reveal dried up red leaves. Heidi placed a small amount of leaves in the end of the pipe. She looked around quickly, before she went over to the window in Stephanie's room and opened the window. She sat on the ledge of the window and lit the pipe, sighing in bliss, blowing purple smoke out her nose. Heidi took a good look at Stephanie, her eyes roaming up and down her sickly body. Her amber eyes seemed to pierce into Stephanie's body, past it, and right into her soul. Heidi inhaled from the pipe again, blowing out the exotic smelling smoke, the smoke clouding her vision.

"Three weeks," Heidi said softly, her eyes half lidded, "It will take three weeks for me to heal you of your aliments, three long and trying weeks, like I told you, Stephanie, this will be an ordeal that will try and test what mental and physical strength we both posse."

Stephanie nodded her head looking at Heidi who tapped the ashes from her pipe and cleaned it, slowly, "Why is it going to take you so long? You got rid of my cough so quickly, with just a simple touch."

"That is because it was just a simple cough," Heidi said, slipping the pipe into her flannel shirt, "The cancers, however, are not so simple, they require much more time and energy. The fact that the cancer has spread and is quite advanced is another hindrance in your healing process."

"Oh," was all Stephanie could say, it did make sense, kind of, but what was Heidi going to do, If it required three weeks? "What are you going to do, if I can ask you Heidi?"

"There is only so much I can do, with your case," Heidi said waving her hand around, as if to dispel the rest of the smoke, "What I can do with my hands alone, will not aide you, I will be adding several methods of healing, from incenses, meditation and several other methods of new age healing."

Heidi unlocked the door to Stephanie's hospital and opened it. when she did, she blinked, seeing a tall man standing in the doorway looking a bit hesitate. He wasn't anyone Heidi had seen before, she had no idea who this man was, and with that being the case, she sure as hell didn't want him around Stephanie. Heidi made to close the door again, but the man placed his foot in between the door and asked, in a horsed voice, "Is Cupcake in there?" peering over Heidi's frail shoulder.

"There is no one in this room named, Cupcake," Heidi said, trying to force the man out the doorway, "Now, pardon me, I have to go and check on my patient."

"Don't bullshit around with me," The man grounded out, pushing against the door, "I fucking know she's in here! The nurses at the station told me so now you're going to let me in, so I can have a talk with my cupcake!"

Heidi let out a grunt as she went flying into partly opened door of the bathroom, thanks to the fucking lug of a man in the doorway, her shoulder making a loud cracking sound on the side of the door. With her left shoulder and arm useless, for the time being, the man walked into the hospital room, with a triumph smile on his face, "Cupcake, I heard from your mom that you have cancer."

Stephanie wasn't looking at Joe Morelli, she was looking at Heidi who was gritting her teeth, her broken shoulder shifting back into place, as though it was being healed. Joe was clucking his tongue, looking at Stephanie who was glaring weakly at him, "Well, well, well, this is what happens when you mess around with street thugs and criminals. They give you cancer, and leave you dying, alone in the hospital."

"Ranger and my friends didn't give me cancer, if you weren't so fucking single and narrowed minded, you would know that," Stephanie said weakly, watching Heidi from the corner of her eye, watching the frail looking woman go over to her suitcase on the coffee table "Get out Joe, and never show your face around me!"

"Oh, and how are you going to stop me, Cupcake, you're sick as a dog, and your little watchdog, if you could call her that, is so weak looking , what a fucking joke."

"I say you are the fucking joke," Heidi said, closing her heavy suitcase and hefting it up in one hand, "Rule one of anything, underestimation of any enemy can be a deadly mistake."

Joe turned around to Heidi, just in time to see the suit case swing up and hit in the face, knocking him out cold on the hospital floor. Heidi made a sound in the back of her voice and then said, loudly, "Boyfriend….boyfriend!"

Diesel appeared, a second later, in a cloud of smoke standing on top of Joe's prone body. He turned to Heidi and said with a smile, "What can I do, Chicky-boo?"

"For one, you can get off that man, and two, get him out of here, I wish not to see his ugly mug any longer." Heidi said her suitcase falling to the ground with a heavy 'thud,' "He came in here, harassing my patient, what kind of hospital is this? No clearance or anything, I do not want Stephanie in this place any longer, hurry up and get rid of that trash."

Stephanie let out a snort, watching Diesel grab Joe by the scruff of his shirt and drag him out the hospital room. Minutes later Ranger, Jeanne and Lester were walking in the hospital room, looking worried.

"Diesel caused a fucking scene in the cafeteria, disappearing like that, he only does that when you call for him," Jeanne said to Heidi, who was rotating her shoulder, "Everything alright?"

"He was getting rid of a loud and aggressive man by the name of Joe Morelli," Heidi said looking at the three, her face dark with anger, "Carlos, you and Jeanne pack up all of Stephanie's things I want her out of this place, they let strange and violent men in without any clearance or warning to the patients, I for one do not want my patient near any establishment that is so reckless."

Ranger 's face darkened as well, at the mention of Joe Morelli, he went over to Stephanie and asked, "Did he hurt you in any way, Babe?" gently grabbing her frail hands, and nuzzling them to is face, "All you have to do is say the word, and he's gone, for good."

Stephanie shook her head and said, "No I'm fine, no need to spill blood on my account, you don't need to, Ranger."

"I'd do anything for you, Stephanie," Ranger murmured softly, kissing Stephanie on her lips, "I love you too much."

Jeanne smiled softly, grabbing Lester's arm and asking, "Why don't you say gushy stuff like that to me?"

"Because, when I do, you call me a pussy, so I tend to say not so gushy stuff to you, like, you're sexy, and talented, and I know you're capable of killing off any enemy on your own."

"You know what to say to a woman" Jeanne cooed, walking over to the dressers in Stephanie's hospital room, "Let's pack Plum up."

"Jeanne," Stephanie said softly, making the woman look up, "Can you come over here, please?"

Jeanne walked over to Stephanie, who let go of Ranger's hands and grabbed Jeanne's hand, making her blush and turn her head away from her, "Jeanne, I can't thank you enough for asking Heidi to do this for me, I know you've never liked me, but it tells me a lot about you, when you could have rubbed it all in my face, or have not helped me at all."

Jeanne felt her face darken some more and then she said, "Please, Plum, without you, there'd be no one to be an enemy with, Heidi's my boss and Joyce Barnhart is a twat….I was doing myself a favor."

"Sure you were," Heidi said with a smile, as Diesel walked back into the hospital room, dusting his hands off, "Thaddeus, where do you think we should go? I want somewhere peaceful, like near a lake or a river, or a field of flowers."

"Oh, we should go to the main island of Japan, to Kyoto, to that mansion you own, the one near the river and water fall. That would be a good place for Stephanie to go and get healed," Diesel said smiling suddenly," It's calm and peaceful, and Kyoto Is quite pretty around this time of year."

"Indeed," Heidi said picking up her suitcase to pack up her book, "The River has natural healing properties, we shall go to Kyoto to heal you, Stephanie, Kyoto, an ancient Japanese city, an enigma wrapped around mystical stories and myths, what an odd choice, Thaddeus…."

Ranger looked over to Heidi and said, "As long as Stephanie is healed, I don't care if we go to Antarctica."

"Watch what you say, Carlos, Antarctica is chilly this time of year as well." Heidi said with a wink, "Who knows, we might have to go there to heal Stephanie, just joking…." Heidi giggled at the look Stephanie gave her.

Heidi took her pipe out again, and walked over to the open window, she ignored the looks given to her, and stuffed her pipe with the dried red leaves. She lit the tip and inhaled deeply, blowing smoke out of her nose, "We shall leave tonight, if you would, Jeanne, once we are there, open all the doors, and air out the tatami mats and the futons, goodness knows it has been a while since we have been to Kyoto. Thaddeus, we should have a traditional Kyoto dinner, I hope you are in the mood to make a five course meal, packed with protein and leafy greens, Stephanie needs all the vitamins, protein and iron she can get ."

Stephanie watched as Heidi blew purple smoke from between her lips, the tip of her pipe hanging from her lips. Heidi turned to Stephanie and smiled, "You will be fine, Stephanie, you are in capable hands now, I hope you will enjoy Kyoto as much as I love it."

Stephanie got the feeling that she would indeed love the city and the three weeks she would spend with Heidi and the rest of the group. With all the support surrounding her, the cancers lingered less on her mind.

Heidi would get rid of them, Stephanie was certain of that. she was in capable hands, after all.

TBC…

(Reviews are loved, I love your feedback!)


	11. Folklore and Kyoto

_chapter 11, enjoy! :3_

_warning; some light smut at the end, mkay, bye..._

A Healing Hand

_Folklore and Kyoto_

_"A long time ago, before modern time and history, maybe about 5000 years in the past , there was a small tribe, in the heart of Africa. It was not a small tribe, mostly made of older men and women, with the occasional young couple here and there. The tribe lived in the heart of the African rainforest, underneath the grove of large trees, close to a river that if followed, would lead one out into the savannahs. The lived a modest life of hunting and gathering, farming was still a novel idea, with only wild grains being used to farm._

_In this small tribe, there lived an older couple, in their mid-50's, quite old, during that time period. The older couple had lived in the tribe, all their lives, and had never wandered but maybe one mile away from the tribe. They had no children to call their own, but had desired to have one of their own. The couple was past the age to create children, so they left the safety of the tribe, to travel down the river to find a man who could help them in their quest to have a child. It would be a first for anyone in the tribe to leave the safety of the jungle and travel to the world beyond. The two were scared, but were determined to have a child of their own. They had heard about the man from a traveling tribe, they told the couple about a man with the ability to grants wishes in the savannahs of Africa. He lived in the hallow of a huge cypress tree by the banks of the river. The crocodiles and the hippos protected him of ill will, and the zebras and the antelope led those who needed help to him. This man would help them create a child, so on the night of the first full moon of winter; they set out, going down the river to go to the savannahs of Africa, to find this magical man."_

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi pulled her pipe to her mouth, and looked around the dining room of the mansion. The group was silent, absorbing the words she just told them. She had gotten in to the spirit of Kyoto's mythology and folklore, and decided to tell the group a few stories she had stumbled upon during her travels after dinner and dessert.

"Why did you stop?" Ranger asked, his eyes on Heidi's amber eyes, "The story isn't finish…"

"It is for tonight," Heidi said puffing on the pipe, "Besides, Stephanie has fallen asleep, and I would like to set up the incense burners before she falls into REM sleep. The pain from her cancer will hit her hard, since she is without modern medicine and the mix of incenses that I have created will stop the pain, follow me."

Ranger lifted Stephanie's sleeping form up in his arms and followed Heidi over to the sliding doors, which she opened and let Ranger exit first. Their shadows splashed against the screen door as they walked down the hall to the stairway that would led them upstairs to the bedrooms.

Lester leaned back on his pillow and said, "This is a huge and expensive place, how can Heidi afford this, if she doesn't accept money as a form of payment?"

"A gift from a person, for healing his child," Jeanne said getting up to clean up the plates on the low table, Diesel piling plates on a tray, "She was given 4 acres of land and the mansion, Heidi owns this side of the mountain."

"Shit, 4 acres in Japan?" Lester whistled, looking around, "That must be worth a fortune now."

"yup, she has people trying to buy it from her, but she's keeping it," Jeanne said motioning for Lester to get up and follow her and Diesel to the kitchen to wash dishes.

"The taxes must be a bitch here," Lester said softly, walking down the long hallway and into the large upscale kitchen, "We're talking maybe 100k a year, right?"

"More like 0k a year," Jeanne said moving around the kitchen to find the dishwashing detergent, "Due to an old grandfather clause, if the property was bought before a certain time, then it is free from being taxed, Heidi has had this property for a long time, like many of her properties, they were grandfathered into many exceptions."

Lester whistled and said, "shit, she's fucking lucky, what kind of property does she own?"

"A castle in Scotland, Denmark, a manor in England, several manors in France and several villas in the Mediterranean Islands, all gifts for her services," Diesel said softly, placing dishes in the dishwasher, "O course, there are the other gifts given to her, statues,paintings, manuscripts, jewels, her favorite gift is the pipe that the first emperor of China used himself, as you can tell."

Lester whistled and said, "Shit, she must help out some wealthy people!"

"Not really, the gifts that were given to her had been passed down for generations in many poor families," Jeanne said going over to Lester and kissing his lips, "That pipe she smokes from, was given to her by a poor merchant, who didn't even know whom it belonged to first."

Lester smiled and said, "Really?"

"The gifts given to her, hold no real value for Heidi, the only reason why she takes them is because they match the amount of services she gives to the people she helps out," Diesel said sitting at the table in the kitchen, "She never asks for too much or too little, she knows just the right amount."

"If I'm not being rude, but can I ask how old Heidi is?" Lester asked, earning a look from Diesel and Jeanne, "She looks like a teenager, but she speaks as though she's 10 times older than that."

"That's up for Heidi to tell you," Jeanne said going over to the refrigerator and taking out some snacks, "She may or may not tell, you, it's her information to tell, not ours."

Diesel smiled over to Lester and said, "We all have our secrets, right?" before he turned back to cleaning up the kitchen.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi's mansion rested on the side of a mountain that over looked the city of Kyoto. It faced east, towards the sea, behind the house, a river ran alongside the house, which led to a waterfall, which pooled near the stairs that one had to climb to get up to the mansion. It was a mix of modern and traditional Japanese architect, with its pagoda roofs, and sharp contemporary edges.

Heidi slide the screen door open to reveal a large bedroom that faced the sea. There was a large window that went to floor to ceiling, basking the room in weak moonlight. The floor was covered with tatami mats and a large futons with the summer bedding was waiting for Stephanie. Ranger and Stephanie's things were waiting for them, unpacked and in their rightful places. There was electricity in this room, but a simple bowl full of oil and a lit wick that rested on a side was the only thing lighting the room. Heidi slipped her slippers off and led Ranger over to the futon, where she pulled the thin comforter down and let Ranger slip Stephanie in the futon. She pulled the covers up to Stephanie's chin and went over to the side table and placed a jade incense holder on it. She took out a pouch of cheese cloth and dumped its content into the incense holder, it had been full of herbs and dried flowers all soft and nicely scented. She lit the dried herbs with the wick of the oil bowl and let the wonderful smells of herbs and flowers fill the room. Heidi turned to Ranger in the dim light and said softly, "If the burner goes out during the night, use the wick from this oil bowl, and nothing else, the oil is special, as is the wick, it will aide in Stephanie's healing process. You must be tired, the lavender and poppy will lull you to sleep, I hope you have pleasant dreams, Carlos."

Heidi got up from her knees and left the room, just as she left, she heard Ranger say, "Thank you, Heidi," before she closed the screen door to the room.

Ranger slid out his clothes and climbed into the down soft futon beside Stephanie, pulling her close. She wasn't restless, like during nights at the hospital, she was sleeping peacefully, her face relaxed, not tensed up from pain, and in fact, there was a smile on her face. Ranger smiled, pushing a thinned out curl away from Stephanie's face, the lavender and poppy scents making him sleepy.

"Babe, I love you," Ranger said, before he tucked his head in Stephanie's neck and fell asleep.

And just like his Babe, his sleep was peaceful and full of rest, for the first time in over a month, not since this ordeal had started.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi sat in the backyard of her mansion, watching the fireflies light up and weave through the flowers and green leaves. She had a tray of tea and sweets beside her, along with her smoking pipe, laying on its perch, smoke drifting lazily from the lit end. She was sitting on the porch that was off the master bedroom of her house, which resided on the first floor, in the back, facing the mountain the river and the gardens. Heidi lifted the pipe in her fingers and took a long drag from it, exhaling purple smoke from her mouth. she made to place the pipe down, but large fingers grabbed it, and Diesel sat down beside her, dressed in a sleeping kimono. He took a long drag from the pipe and exhaled from his nose turning to look at Heidi, "Hey…"

"Hey," Heidi responded, taking the offered pipe and holding it loosely between her fingers, "Are Lester and Jeanne tucked away for the evening?"

"Indeed, they are," Diesel said softly, watching Heidi place a finger on the burning tip of the pipe, "I'm sure that hurts."

Heidi held up her burnt finger, watching as it healed itself, not even leaving a mark. Heidi rubbed her fingers together, and said, "It should hurt, but I am use to the pain."

Diesel watched Heidi tip the ash from the pipe into a rose bush and then said, "Lester was asking about your age, I'm sure Ranger is curious as well."

"They are, but it is not time yet," Heidi said softly, leaning down and grabbing her tea, "When the time comes, I will tell them, but until then, we shall leave them in the dark."

Diesel took a sip from Heidi's tea and then leaned down to kiss the woman, the kiss getting deeper. Heidi placed the tea cup and the pipe down, letting Diesel lay her on the floor of the porch, his fingers pulling open Heidi's sleeping kimono. He loomed over her, the moonlight shining down on her frail frame. Diesel leaned down and kissed her saying, "Does it always hurt when we make love?"

"No, Like I said, Thaddeus, the pain is something that I am used to," Heidi said, wrapping her legs around Diesel's waist, "It is a part of this gift and this curse."

Diesel looked down at Heidi and said, "I wish I can take your pain away…."

"You can try, but you will fail," Heidi said, pulling Diesel down so that they could make love.

Heidi let out a gasp, the pain sharp and quick, as Diesel entered her, as he tore through the natural resistance. It faded as soon as he began to move inside of her, his lips catching some of her flesh and sucking at it. They moved quickly, their hips rocking in time. Heidi gripped Diesel's shoulders, grinding her hips into his groin, earning a strangle groan from the man above her.

Heidi let out a sound as Diesel shifted them, so that he was leaning against the beam on the porch and Heidi was in lap, bouncing, gripping his shoulders, her back arched with pleasure her head thrown back, tiny moans and whimpers leaving her open mouth.

"That's it, baby, lose control, show me what you're hiding beneath," Diesel groaned, cupping one of Heidi's breast.

Heidi bit her lip and slumped forward, her orgasm tearing through her frail frame, causing her to cry out weakly. Heidi heard Diesel groan loudly, his own orgasm following hers, emptying all he had to give into Heidi, who smiled lovingly and kissed him.

"I love you, Heidi," Diesel said softly, looking into the woman's eyes, "I want to be with you forever…."

"I want to be with you forever as well," Heidi said, kissing the hand Diesel rested on her cheek, "There is nothing that can stop us from being together…."

"Yes, now, let's wash up and go to sleep," Diesel said, picking Heidi up and carrying her into the master bedroom, "We have a busy day tomorrow."

"Indeed," Heidi said looking up at her lover, "We do, I hope Stephanie is ready…"

"I know Steph, she is a strong woman, she'll be ready, I know she will, I've seen her take down men twice her size, she can do it, Heidi, I have faith in her.

"Good, because faith is a strong medicine." Heidi said climbing into the tub beside Diesel, "We all need faith…."

TBC…..

(Reviews are loved, I love your feedback :D)


	12. I Feel Your Pain

chapter 12, enjoy!

Disclaimer in first chapter!

A Healing Hand

_I Feel Your Pain_

Stephanie woke up, pain free, but she felt weak and sickly. She was alone, in a large futon. She remembered eating dinner last night, she had been quite hungry last night, and it made her wonder why she had been so hungry. She hardly ate due to the cancers. She had sat beside Heidi, who had rudely blown purple smoke in her face whenever she could from that damn pipe. Giant purple clouds that smelt of something exotic, It had made her a bit light headed, but the hunger, a hunger she hadn't felt since she began treating her cancer, took over and damn it, she had seconds and had two slices of the cake Diesel made!

After she had eaten, she had felt so tired that she had fallen asleep in Ranger's arms, listening to Heidi tell them a folklore story. Speaking of Ranger….

Stephanie turned hearing shuffling on the other side of the futon. She let out a soft groan and then suddenly, strong hands were helping her sit up and Ranger's warm brown eyes were looking into her pale blue ones.

"Babe, how'd you sleep last night?" Ranger asked, running his fingers down Stephanie's face.

"Good, better than I have in a long time, Ranger," Stephanie said, leaning up to place a soft kiss on his lips, "I love you, Ranger…"

"I love you too, and not in my own my either, I love you with all my heart and soul, we'll be together forever." Ranger said, kissing Stephanie, "And as for you sleeping well, I've never slept better myself, Heidi had some herbs and dried flowers burning through the night, to prevent you from being in pain and to promote a good night's rest."

"I'm glad she did that, I'll have to thank her when I see her," Stephanie started, turning her head to see the sliding door open to their rooms.

"No need to thank me, I am just doing my job and healing you," Heidi said pulling up the sleeves of her thin pink and blue kimono, "Carlos, if you would, please, give Stephanie and I moment, I shall call you when we're ready to go downstairs."

Carlos nodded his head, watching as Heidi walked over to Stephanie and him, and take Stephanie from his arms. He was afraid it might be too much for the frail looking woman, but she seemed stronger than she looked, holding Stephanie steady to her bosom. Ranger kissed Stephanie's forehead and placed a hand on Heidi's shoulder before he left the room, sliding the door shut behind him.

Heidi closed her eyes before she looked out the window, holding Stephanie to her. She let out a sigh and said, "Would you like to hear more of the tale I started last night?"

Stephanie gave Heidi a look and said, "Shouldn't we start my treatment?"

"The story is part of your treatment," Heidi said softly, looking out the window, "listen and really listen, you might get something out the tale I will tell you."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

_The couple walked for many days on the banks of the river, making their way through the jungle they called home. It was a walk they hoped to make again but the next time, with a child of their own. They walked through the winter's heavy rain and wind, battling whatever nature threw at them. it was ten days after they began the trek to see the magical man, when they left the wood line of the jungle and took their first steps into the tall grasses of the African savannah._

_It was a novel experience for them both. They had never seen grass reach to their shoulders, nor had they seen the vast expansion of the blue sky, the jungle tree tops prevented them from seeing the sky. The sun was bright and warm on their bare backs, it was a comforting presence for the hopeful couple._

_They walked for many miles, by the banks of the river, hopeful that their destination would be appearing soon. They were not disappointed, on the fourth night walking through the savannahs, they came upon a massive cypress tree near the banks of the river. As they got closer to the tree, the couple were stopped by the hippos and crocodiles that guarded the tree. They asked the couple why had they seek the magical man. The couple told the animals the truth; they desired the aide of the magical man to give them a child of their own._

_Seeing no ill will in the hearts of the couple, the crocodiles and hippos let them pass and the zebras and antelope led them into the hollow of the tree. The man was waiting for them, because he saw them in a vision he had many moons ago. He told the couple that they were well past the age of bearing young, but the man also told them that the couple could still bear a child. All they needed to do was take the red flowers that grew on white veins in the rainforest; add it into a clay pot full of winter rain water that had been boiling for half a had to add the flower before the first stars came out into the sky The woman would drink the nectar that this water and flower would create and the couple would have their child. No steps could be changed or skipped, or else dire consequences would happen to the couple. The couple thanked the man, and left the hallow of the cypress tree to go back to their jungle home and do what the man told them to do._

_It took less time to get back to their jungle tribe, along the way, the couple collected the flowers that grew on the white veins, and water from the winter rains. They told the tribe of their journey and what the magical man told them to do. They were quite proud of their selves and soon, they would have a child from their fruits of labor. The couple created the sweet nectar and the woman drunk of it. several moons later, the woman gave birth to a child, a little girl. The couple was so proud of her, because she was the prettiest girl in the tribe, and many suitors would come to them, asking for her hand in union once she reached the age of maturity. The couple, however had forgotten to do a step in creating the nectar, they had added the red flower after sun set and thus had changed the way the nectar would work. While the girl may have looked like any other child during the infant stage, the error of their ways would begin to show as the girl became a child…."_

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi pulled her kimono back, and placed a single fingertip on Stephanie's arm, dragging it up a major artery. Stephanie winced, feeling the ice cold sensation course through her body, squeezing at her heart, going through her blood stream. It wasn't like the hand to her back, it was much colder, much more piercing, it had Stephanie in tears, as the cold sensation coursed through her system.

When Heidi removed her fingertip, the cold sensation stopped and Stephanie let out a sob of relief, looking at into Heidi's sad amber eyes. Heidi pulled the kimono back over her hand and said, "I have rid you of the Staph infection. It was important I rid of that first, if left unchecked, it would have done more damage than the cancer."

Heidi placed a cloth covered hand over Stephanie's abdomen and said in a low voice, "I found something last night, whilst I was telling the group the tale. Darkness ,almost like a void, in this area of your body, Stephanie. The chemotherapy and the radiation, it has damage your womb and your ovaries, you are barren, unable to have children."

"Barren…" Stephanie said softly, looking up at Heidi who nodded her head, "I won't have children…."

Heidi held on tight to Stephanie as the sobs rocked through her body. She wouldn't be able to have children. During this cancer fiasco, she had found out that she really did want to have children with Ranger. She wanted small children with his mocha latte skin, and her blue eyes. now, she wouldn't be able to gift him with that.

"I did not tell Carlos, because, it is not my place to do so," Heidi said hugging Stephanie, "I shall call him and let you tell him, it is only right if he hears it from you."

Through the sobs, Stephanie nodded her head and then Heidi was laying her down, getting up and exiting the room. Ranger came in and was over at Stephanie's sobbing frame, scooping her up in his arms.

"Babe, what's wrong, are you in pain?" Ranger asked, looking down at Stephanie who nodded her head.

"Ranger, I'm barren," Stephanie sobbed softly, burying her face in Ranger's neck, "I can't give you children, the chemotherapy…"

Ranger wiped the tears from Stephanie's eyes and said, "It's alright Babe, it doesn't matter if we have no kids or a dozen kids, as long as you're beside me, healthy and alive, that's all that matters."

"But I wanted to give you a child," Stephanie sobbed, holding on tight to Ranger's shirt, "And now I can't, I wanted children with your skin and my eyes."

"It's okay, Stephanie," Ranger said softly, holding onto Stephanie, his voice tight with emotions, "It doesn't matter as long as you're alive, we'll adopt, we'll find a surrogate, I don't care, as long as you're alive."

Stephanie buried her face in Ranger's neck, crying softly, letting Ranger whisper Spanish in her ears.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi gripped the edge of the sliding door, her eyes downcast her arm trembling. She let go of the sliding door and turned to walk down the hallway to the stairway. She walked through the dining room, ignoring the greetings she got from Lester, Jeanne and Diesel, going past the low table to go into the gardens. She sat down on the stone bench that rested underneath a young red maple tree. She rested a trembling hand on her abdomen and said, "I understand your pain as well, Stephanie."

"Heidi?" Diesel said, walking over to the woman and sitting beside her on the stone bench, "Are you alright? Is there something heavy on your mind?"

Heidi turned to Diesel and said softly, "We have been together for a long time, Thaddeus, a very long time, and I have neglected to tell you something, something important."

Diesel leaned close to Heidi as she grabbed his hand. Heidi turned to Diesel and said, "I am unable to give you a child, due to my gifts."

"I thought as much," Diesel said lifting Heidi's head with two fingers, "It's okay, I understand…"

"Maybe I wanted a little girl with your blue eyes," Heidi said softly, placing Diesel's hand on her cheek, "Or a little boy with your blond hair?"

Diesel wiped the lone tear from Heidi's face and said softly, "It doesn't matter, I'll love you no matter what."

"That is what all my lovers had told me, but in the end they left me due to my barren state," Heidi said closing her eyes, "You will leave me as well…"

Diesel pulled Heidi into his arms and said, "No I won't, I won't, what do I have to do to prove to you that I won't, Heidi, I don't care if we don't have children, I don't, Heidi, it's just you and me, and that's how I like it!"

Diesel kissed Heidi fiercely his hands holding the side of Heidi's face, "I love you…we'll stay together…I promise you."

"Do not make promises you cannot keep," Heidi sobbed before Diesel pulled her into his lap and let her cry in his shoulder.

Diesel ran his hands over her frail back, as sobs racked through her. Diesel sighed softly and rocked Heidi, "It's not healthy to keep it all bottled in," he said softly in Heidi's ear, "It's okay, baby, it's okay,"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Jeanne looked around the lunch table, her face pinched. She turned to Lester who was engrossed with his meal and elbowed him hard in the side, earning a yelp of pain. Lester looked up to give Jeanne a piece of her mind, but Jeanne stopped him by saying, in a whisper, "look…."

Lester looked up and frowned. Every occupant except for Jeanne and Lester had looks of depression and other sad emotions. Stephanie only picked at her food, her face drawn and her free hand holding Ranger's hand. Ranger had a blank face on, protecting himself from the internal battle he was fighting. Diesel was giving Heidi looks, watching the frail woman smoke from her pipe, her head turned to the side and her eyes closed, her mouth slack.

Jeanne got up, pulling Lester with her and leading him out the kitchen and into the hallway. She turned to the man and asked, "Call Tank, and tell him and Lula to pack some bags, tell him to also call Stephanie's father and grandmother, tell them to pack some bags and prepare for Diesel to pick them up. I think we need some family here to brighten this place up. I don't know what went on this morning, because Heidi and Diesel aren't going to tell me and Stephanie is too much of a mess to tell me."

Lester nodded his head and took out his phone to call Tank. Hopefully some familiar aces would do them all good.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Frank turned his head from the TV as his cell phone went off. He may not be as hip as his children, with their touch screen phones with all the bells and whistles, but at least he had a cell phone. Hr had gotten a call yesterday from Ranger, telling him that Stephaie would be taken out the Princeton hospital and would go somewhere else. Joe had caused a scene at the hospital and Ranger didn't want him around Stephanie. Frank had to agree, it had been a huge mistake telling his wife about the hospital that Stephanie had been staying at. She had gone and told that damn Morelli. Frank was tempted to divorce that damn woman!

Frank got up and walked over to his phone and answered it with a curt, "Yes."

"Mr. Plum, it's Tank, Ranger's colleague," Tank said to Frank, "I was told by Lester to request that you and Edna pack a bag and wait for Diesel to pick you up, you're going with him to see Stephanie."

Frank was taking the stairs to at a time, after what Tank told him, "When is this Diesel person supposed to be here?"

"In about two hours, be prepared then," Tank said, "See you soon."

Frank hung his cell phone up and went into Edna's bedroom. Today was a rare day, she was in her room, putting on a bubble gum pink wig, about to head out for a day of wakes and bingo.

"Edna, hate to make you change your plans," Frank lied, but he wasn't going to say that to the woman, "But….pack a bag, we're going to see Stephanie."

"Well ain't that a pip, I know she's not at the hospital, I hope she's happy where she's at, I know she is, she has that hunk of a boyfriend." Grandma Mazur leered, making Frank shudder, "Well, let me pack, I'll be ready soon."

Frank left Edna's room and packed enough clothes for a week. as he was packing, his wife walked into their bedroom. Helen gave Frnak a look and then looked down at his packed bags and asked, "Where are you going Frank?"

"Out of town," Frank said simply, putting his last article in the bags, "I'll be gone for maybe a week."

"How can you go out of town, when our daughter has been kidnapped by a group of thugs!?" Helen exclaimed, looking at Frank her voice high and tight, "She could be dead!"

"Stephanie is somewhere safe," Frank said looking at Helen, "She left the hospital because Morelli came and accosted her in her sick bed, I for one am glad she's somewhere else."

Frank zipped his bags up and said, "Edna is coming with me, we're going to be at the same place, don't try to contact us."

Helen bristled and said, "Joseph has some sense, he was trying to make it clear that Stephanie got that cancer from those thugs!"

"You can't catch cancer,like a cold" Edna said walking into the bedroom, with her bags, "What are you, slow, Helen? I ought to slap the taste out your mouth, how dare you stand there and act as if you are better than those people who are helping your child, with her illness. I'm glad she's not here, to hear your bull hockey, I hope by the time we come back, you'll come to your senses, come along son, there's a sexy blond man here, looking for us."

"Pardon me, Helen," Frank said picking his bags up and walking past his stunned wife, "I'll be back in a week."

Frank and Edna left the room and went downstairs. Helen tuned and made her way down the stairs to give her husband a piece of her mind, expecting them to be downstairs. Helen was shocked to find that they weren't there, they were gone. They couldn't have left the house, due to the fact that the dead bolt was still on, how did they leave then? Helen was stumped, but not for long. she went over to the phone and called her soon to be son in law.

"Hello Joesph, it's me Helen..."

TBC...

(reviews are loved, I love your feedback, FFN was acting dumb last night...bleh...)


	13. Waiting

Chapter 13 enjoy! :3

Disclaimer in first chapter

A Healing Hand

_Waiting_

Stephanie leaned against Heidi as the two walked on a stone path through the woods behind Heidi's mansion. The sun was setting in the June sky, the only source of light they had was the lantern that Heidi held in her free hand. Stephanie loved the summer nights in japan, and with Heidi living far away from the city, the stars were bright and the air crisper. Stephanie could hear music drifting from the mansion. Her father, grandmother, Tank and Lula had arrived at the mansion two nights ago, and ever since then it has been a blast. It really did take her mind off of the cancer. To be able to talk and gossip with Lula, to tease Jeanne and Lester and to keep her grandmother from buying porn out of the vending machines. It was like a typical day for Stephanie in New Jersey.

That night, after Dinner, Heidi had helped Stephanie up and told her that they would go meditate in a small shrine in the woods. It would ease Stephanie's mind, and teach her how to be calm. Tomorrow, Heidi would be working on the cancer in Stephanie's lymph nodes. She hadn't told Stephanie how she would rid of the cancer there, but she trusted Heidi, much like in the way she trusted Ranger.

Heidi turned to Stephanie and said in a low voice, "I am sorry that I had to tell you of your inability to bear children, I will try to heal you of this aliment, but it may be impossible."

"Why is that?" Stephanie asked, as the climbed deeper into the woods.

"Because, I can heal your womb, and ovaries but I cannot make the eggs viable for fertilization," Heidi said to Stephanie, "I had to heal a man whose testicles were crushed from an accident. I could heal the testicles, but I could not make the sperm viable. In the words of Thaddeus, for the rest of his life, he will be shooting blanks, I do not know why either, it must be because the egg and the sperm are the keys to creating life, and I can only heal life, not create life."

"Oh," Stephanie said softly, watching the lantern light splash on Heidi's face, "So, you must have been asked many times to bring someone back from the dead."

"I have, thousands of times, kings, queens, politicians, billionaires, but I could not, I tell them before they hire me, I can only heal not bring people back from the dead." Heidi said softly, motioning Stephanie to look into the woods, "We are here, it is a shrine I had created, so I can meditate in peace."

Stephaine looked up, seeing in the lantern light, a small stout building of stone, it was painted whie, with a red border going around it. there were lanterns sitting on stones, lighting their way into the shrine. Heidi led Stephanie into the small room and laid her on a futon on the wooden floors. Stephanie watched as Heidi went around the small room, lighting candles and lighting incense burners. The heavy sweet smell of flowers and plants filled the small room, making Stephanie's head all stuffy, but not in a bad way.

"The herbs I burn help ease one into a meditative trance." Heidi said, positioning Stephanie, "It will help you Stephanie, just relax."

Stephanie let out a sigh and closed her eyes, which she promptly opened when she heard Heidi shuffle away from her, saying, "Take a look at this, Stephanie."

Stephanie turned her head and watched in the dim light, as Heidi took off Diesel's flannel shirt, leaving her bare from the waist up. Stephanie could not believe what she saw. Heidi was covered in tattoos, they seemed to wrap around her frail frame, in a multitude of colors, some faded and some seemed to glow in the dim lighting. The tattoo on her back, however, got her attention. It was a bird surrounded by fire, and I seemed to be engulfing a pink flower in its beak . it glowed a dull orange, as if it was alive.

Heidi turned to Stephanie and said, "Do you like my tattoos? They are for my protection, they protect me from evil spirits and beings that wish to cause me harm, the phoenix, or the bird on my back, is for you, however…."

"For me?" Stephanie asked, slowly sitting up, "Why?"

"The phoenix symbolizes the cycle of life, and I am recycling your life, it will give me a boost of healing power, which will help me heal you with much more efficiency," Heidi said, crossing her legs and sitting in front of Stephanie, pulling her shirt back on "These tattoos, they all fade over time, like a slow healing wound, on average they last for about five years."

Stephanie watched as Heidi pulled out her pipe and stuffed it with the dried red leaves. Stephanie licked her lips and asked, "What are you smoking?"

"Cannabis," Heidi responded, lighting the pipe and puffing on it, purple smoke filling the shrine, "There is a reason why I blow smoke in your face when we eat, I am getting you high, so you can get hungry. You are quite ill, so food is the last thing on your mind, I am simply making sure you eat in the best way, without the requirement of feeding tubes."

Stephanie made a strangled noise in the back of her throat, "You were making get the munchies!"

"And it has been working, you have been gaining weight, and looking much better than you were looking in the hospital," Heidi said, blowing smoke in Stephanie's face, "The fact that you did not need to be carried up to the shrine is a testament to your healing process."

Stephanie had to admit, she loved the fact that she had an appetite again, because Diesel's cooking was divine. And she could sit up for long periods of time and wasn't so tired. Heidi had been helping, by placing her cold hands on the painful joints and limb from time to time.

"It doesn't look like weed though, why is that?" Stephanie asked, looking at Heidi who smiled proudly and took a drag from the pipe.

"Call me an amateur botanist, I have created a hybrid plant, a cross between several strands of cannabis, and many fruit and plants, this hybrid is two times as potent without the negatives." Heidi said smoking on her pipe, "Before Jeanne had called in a favor, I was on my way to Denmark, to give a sample to their ministry of health, they will have to wait, though, because you come first."

Stephanie smiled and said, "You must have a lot of time on your hand to create a new type of weed."

Heidi smiled from behind a curtain of purple smoke and said, "You have no idea, Stephanie…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I never thought I'd be in Japan!" Grandma Mazur said excitedly to Lula and Jeanne as they sat in the dark garden, "Ain't this a pip! And that sexy blond man….ain't he pip too!"

Lula rolled her eyes, looking over to the group of men who were engrossed in a conversation themselves, over the fire they started in the fire pit, "You've seen him before, Grandma Mazur, that's Diesel, remember that old guy who you were dating, the one that caught that Christmas tree on fire, Diesel had been looking for him."

"Oh yeah," Grandma Mazur said leaning back on the stone bench, "Well, forgive me, I'm an old woman, I have bouts of memory problems."

Grandma Mazur paused and said, "So where did that little girl take my Stephanie?"

"Up to her meditation shrine, probably to calm Stephanie down before she fixes Stephanie up tomorrow, she's working on the lymph nodes, a delicate part of the body." Jeanne said, kicking her feet in the pond, scaring the fish, "It must be nice to have the ability to heal people, I'm sure she can do wonders for your hip, old lady."

Grandma Mazur gave Jeanne a smile and said, "These hips are fine, in fact I met this Japanese man, today, while exploring the city,and we went down to this hotel and I showed him how well my hips worked."

Both Jeanne and Lula gagged loudly, shuffling away from Grandma Mazur, who cackled loudly and snapped her dentures. Jeanne gave Grandma Mazur a look and said, "No wonder why you were gone for three hours, I'm telling Frank."

"And what's he going to do, ground me?" Grandma Mazur asked cackling again, fanning herself.

"He ought to," Lula said getting up, "Well, I can't be mad at you, at least you're getting some at that age."

Lula gave Grandma Mazur a high five, both of them ignoring Jeanne's, "Oh brother…" Grandma Mazur smiled softly and said, "I do hope that little girl saves my grandbaby, Stephanie was my favorite one, after all, she took after me, I tell you, all spunk and full of life, couldn't tell her nothing. It almost got stamped out of her by her mother, but I made sure that didn't happen, nope, made sure she knew that Grandma Mazur had her back, no matter what."

Grandma Mazur turned to Ranger's form and said, "But she really doesn't need me anymore, she has that sexy bounty hunter and a slew of friends who support her without questions, and that's all I could really ask for her."

"Old Lady, I didn't know you were so sentimental." Jeanne said, looking at Grandma Mazur who smiled and pinched Jeanne's cheek.

"A grandmother's love is always unwavering." Grandma Mazur said, before she let go of Jeanne's cheek, making the woman rub her sore face.

"Yeah, we know," Jeanne said giving Grandma Mazur a glare, "just don't pinch my cheeks again."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Stephanie's looking better," Frank commented, looking up at the sky, "I'm glad to see her eating and gaining back some weight. How is that woman making her eat?"

"She's been getting her high," Diesel said leaning back against a tree, "the pipe she smokes is filled with some new type of weed, she's been blowing smoke into Stephanie's face to make her high and to give her the munchies."

"She's been getting Stephanie high?" Lester said stunned, "Well, that does make sense, I always feel giddy around her."

"She smokes it all the time," Ranger said, looking at Diesel, who nodded his head, "is she a pothead?"

"Possibly, yes," Diesel said, shrugging his shoulders, "She does it more out of habit, she uses the affect weed has on a person a pain reliever and as a way to make patients eat, even if they have no desire to do so."

"sounds like a hippie," Tank said, earning a nod from Diesel.

"I would say so, but she's been doing this for a long time, I call it, Heidi-aid, it works too, most of the patients are feeling right as rain, even before they are fully healed," Diesel said softly, turning to the men, "But, Heidi isn't the only one helping Stephanie get well, just by you all being here, it's helping Stephanie. it's giving her a sense of normalcy, I guess, I ain't used to this sentimental shit, too emotional for me."

"Agreed," Lester said before he turned to the woods, "I hope they're alright up there."

"They are," Diesel said with a smile, "Heidi and Stephanie are quite protected, and if they have problems, I'll be up there lickity split."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a soft sigh her mind at rest and her body slack. She felt cool fingers in her hair, threading through the thinned out locks, touching her scalp. It left a cooling sensation as they trailed over her scalp. She could smell the exotic smoke in the air, making her even more light headed, along with incense that was burning. She felt lips on her forehead and Heidi whispered, "I shall tell you the last of the folklore, hopefully you are awake for the end of it."

Stephanie didn't know if she was awake or not, but she did murmured, "Okay….." leaning into the cool touches.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

_The couple's child grew from a pretty infant into a beautiful child. She had hair blacker than the night sky, eyes the color of the honey that the bees made in the trees of the jungle. The people of the tribe told the couple that when she was at the age of maturity, she would attract a king and he would marry her. She would be dressed in gold and silver and the couple would live in the palace with their child. People would travel into the jungle to get a glimpse of the beautiful child. She was perfect in every way, until one day; she suddenly fell ill, falling onto the ground, unable to get up._

_The couple was distraught; they didn't know what was wrong with their child. She showed no signs of illnesses before, what could be the cause of her falling down? They tried herbs and potions, hoping that would cure their child. Alas, the medicines they gave her did not help her aliment, and so, the child was confined in the hut, lying on a reed mat, unable to move but her head. Even though she was ill and in pain, she was able to give her parent her lovely smile and that made the couple feel much better; the illness may have taken their child's strength but not her spirit. _

_The child remained on the mat of reed for a long time, only able to eat a broth made of roots, and warm milk with honey. Her childhood was spent in the hut, being cared for by the couple. Their hopes of her attracting a husband were dashed when she fell ill. No one would want a wife who cannot move their body. She would forever remain with the couple, whose time on this earth was quickly coming to an end. They could feel their tired and old bodies begin to slow down, they could no longer leave their hut, but remain in it, accepting the food that the other tribe members bought for them and their child. The child had been on the cusps of maturity, when her parents died, leaving her alone and without any help. _

_The tribe members did not want to be burden with the girl, no matter how pretty she was. They all made the choice to make a raft of logs and vines, place the girl on it, and let the river take her into the savannahs, where the big animals would eat her and they would be rid of her._

_They made haste, building the raft, and by the third night, they had finished it. they placed the sickly girl on the raft, and let it drift down the river, to the savannahs. The poor girl went down the river floating for days and praying that she would die quickly, to be reunited with her parents. The raft had been floating down the river for two days, before a lion, a lion of white fur and blue eyes, jumped into the river, grabbed the raft and pulled the girl out of the river. The girl begged the lion to be swift and eat he but the lion instead spoke and told the girl that he was on ordinary lion, that he was a god, posing as a lion. He had saved the sickly girl because he saw the power that lay inside her soul. He told her that he would unlock her gift and cure her of her illness, if in turn, she become his wife. The god desired the girl and wanted her to be his. He would dress her in silver and gold, and make sure that she never went without. The girl, having never had any love from anyone but her parents, agreed and the god healed her and then unlocked her gifts. He then gave her everlasting life telling her that he would return and fetch her when the time was right and when she was ready. For now, he told her to travel the world and use her gifts to heal the sick and ailing. The girl thanked the god with a kiss and did as he requested, to use her gift and heal those who were sick and ill, just like she had been. All the while, she waited for her god to come and fetch her, so she could be his wife."_

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi slid her hand out of Stephanie's hair and admired what she had done. Stephanie's hair had thinned out and fallen out due to the chemo and radiation. Now it was back, fuller and healthier looking than before she had fallen ill. Heidi had healed the hair cells that had been damaged by the chemo and radiation.

Heidi smiled looking down at Stephanie's sleeping form saying, "You fell asleep before you could hear the end, maybe next time, when you are awake, Stephanie."

Heidi looked up hearing footsteps and saw Ranger standing in the doorway of the shrine. He held a lantern in his hand and a smile on his face.

"That was a nice story," Ranger said, walking into the shrine looking at Heidi and then at Stephanie, "She has more hair…."

"Indeed," Heidi said softly, standing up, "I healed the hair follicles that had been damaged by the chemotherapy. If you could, please pick her up and put her to bed, we have a long and testing day ahead of us, I'll just be a minute."

Ranger walked over to Stephanie's sleeping form and lifted her up. He turned to Heidi, who had taken out her pipe and was smoking it, blowing purple smoke out her nose. He smiled at the frail woman and said, "Have a good night, Heidi."

"You too, Carlos," Heidi said with a smile, before Ranger left the woman in the shrine, with only her thoughts for her company.

Heidi smiled softly, and said to no one, "I am still waiting for you to fetch me…" looking out the door to look up at the sky, "Come and get your wife…."

Heidi blew out the candles and put out the incense burner, and left the shrine, walking slowly down the path, smoking causally from her pipe

TBC…

(Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! thank you! :D)


	14. Fate

Chapter 14 is here! I had a long work day yesterday...yawn...I was supposed to go in for a ten hour shift, but they had overstaffed this morning, so unexpected Saturday off! woot woot!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer in chapter one!

A Healing Hand

_Fate_

"Eat," Heidi said, watching Stephanie pick at her eggs, "I do not care how nervous you are, you need to eat."

Stephanie gave Heidi a glare, scooped a forkful of eggs up and stuffed them in her mouth, making a point to chew loudly. Heidi gave Stephanie a smile and said, "That was not so hard, was it? finish everything that is on your plate, You need all the protein and iron you can get, I cannot heal you if you have an empty stomach."

"Babe," Ranger said, looking at Stephanie, who sighed and ate her food, "I know, you are very nervous, it's alright, you have every right to be, but at least eat."

"I'm sorry if I'm acting like such a child, but…I'm scared, I don't know what to expect." Stephanie said, running a hand through her hair, "It's not like what they were doing with me in the hospital, I'll be in a bedroom, with Heidi healing me, no medicine or anything."

"I would not say anything," Heidi said, blowing smoke into Stephanie's face, "If you have any pain, I do have herbs and the like. You will not go without, besides, the herbs and flowers I use are not addictive forming, meaning you will not become dependent upon them."

Stephanie nodded her head, nibbling on the food in front of her. It was just Heidi, Ranger and her, eating the food that Heidi made. It was too early for anyone else to be awake, barely past three. Heidi had woke them both up, stating that ridding her of the cancer in her lymph nodes would be a long and tedious task, and Heidi would not stop for anything. Stephanie asked how long it would take for her to get rid of the cancer, and Heidi shrugged her shoulders saying that she didn't know, maybe a whole day maybe more, or maybe less. That as the reason why she woke them all up early, Heidi honestly didn't know how long it would take her.

Stephanie looked up from her breakfast as Heidi tapped ash from her pipe. Heidi had her eyes closed, seemingly in thought. She turned to Ranger and Stephanie and said, "In all honesty, I have never healed anyone with cancer. You shall be my first, Stephanie, I hope I do not fail you."

"You won't," Stephanie said with a smile, running a hand through her hair, "You gave me my hair back, and I can kind of walk without much pain."

"I have been ridding you of the small tumors on your joints and limbs, the bigger tumors, however require much more time and energy, while the site that the cancers manifested at, they will be the ones that will test everything I know." Heidi said softly, looking up at the light on the ceiling, "Finish eating, Stephanie, and we shall go back to your rooms, Carlos, you will not be permitted to join us, seeing as I prefer to do my healing in private, there is a guest room just down the hallway, you may use to sleep the remainder of this night."

Ranger grabbed Stephanie's hand and said, "You'll be fine, I know you will be," leaning in to kiss Stephanie, "Don't worry, everyone who loves you is in the same house, we're not far away from you."

Stephanie smiled, hugging Ranger, before she turned to Heidi and said, "Okay, I'll finish quickly, so we can get started soon."

Heidi smiled and said, "That is the spirit," refilling her pipe and lighting it.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Jeanne frowned, looking down at the trail of blood that led into the forest behind the mansion. She turned to Lula and Edna saying, "Looks like some kind of animal took down its prey behind the house, I'll get Diesel to clean it up, before we set up the grill for tonight's-"

Lula yelped, hearing a loud and long cry came from within the woods, "What the hell was that?!" hugging herself, "That sounded like a ghost or something."

"Or something…." Jeanne said, before turned and ran back into the house, running up the stairs to the bedroom Stephanie and Ranger were staying in. Jeanne slid open the door, finding Stephanie fast asleep in Ranger's arm. Ranger looked up from his perch on the futon asking, "What is it Jeanne?"

"Have you seen Heidi?" Jeanne asked looking around, "Is she in here?"

"She left about a half hour ago, she spent all day in here, getting rid of the cancer in Stephanie's lymph nodes," Ranger said, before Jeanne turned and ran out the room. Ranger looked at the spot Jeanne stood in, before he looked down at Stephanie and said, "Well, that was strange."

Stephanie shifted in her sleep, curling deeper into Ranger's embrace, a smile on her face.

Diesel let out a grunt, as Jeanne pulled him up from his spot on the couch in the living room of the mansion. Jeanne ignored Lester's greeting, and whispered something in Diesel's ear. Diesel's blue eyes widened and he ran out the room, saying loudly, "Stay here until I call for you Jeanne."

"What's going on?" Lester asked Jeanne who fell onto the couch, rubbing her face, "Is everything alright with Stephanie?"

"Stephanie's fine, it's nothing to worry about," Jeanne said with a soft smile, "Diesel forgot to do something…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Heidi gripped the rough bark of the tree roughly, blood pouring out of her mouth, which she covered with a frail hand. She let out a series of body rattling coughs, which had her to her knees and the blood flying everywhere, before she got up and stumbled into the shrine she meditated in. She fell onto the wooden floors, curling up in agony, choking on the blood in her mouth, her small body twitched from the pain. She managed to get up and crawl over to the little table that had the incense burner on it. She grabbed her pipe from within her shirt, which was still lit from when she was with Stephanie.

Heidi dumped the burning embers from inside her pipe into the incense burner, hoping that it would catch the herbs on fire, before she fell onto the ground again, coughing out blood and letting loose a scream of pain.

She drifted in and out, the smell of burning herbs filling the shrine. Blood poured from her mouth and the pain never ending. She thought she had time to set up the purifying ring , but she didn't, it had hit her like a ton of bricks. The next time she wouldn't hesitate, she would have to set the shrine up, before she got rid of the cancers in Stephanie's body.

Heidi's thoughts drifted to the image of Stephanie, laying peacefully on the futon, cancer free in her lymph nodes, the next step would be the cancer in her lower spine. The cancer in her lymph nodes had been widespread, some of it hiding in whatever little nook and cranny it could find in Stephanie and other parts of it were big, black splotches of death and illness that attacked Heidi when she invaded Stephanie's immune system to fight it. it took a while, but Heidi did it, Stephanie now had one less thing to worry about.

Heidi smiled and closed her eyes, drifting into the darkness that called for her.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie smiled as Lester gave her a playful punch in her arm, "Glad to see you awake Beautiful, how you feeling?"

"Great, like a giant weight has been lifted from my shoulders," Stephanie said with a bright smile, sitting down at the table for breakfast, "It was painful at times, and long, very long, but Heidi got rid of the cancer in my lymph nodes!"

"Well ain't that a Pip!" Grandma Mazur said, hugging her granddaughter, "Do you know how she did it?"

"I was asleep from most of it, but I think she placed her finger tips on the underside of my jaws." Stephanie said, looking up to see Ranger enter the dining room, freshly showered and dressed in a pair of khaki's and a shirt, "Hello Ranger."

"Babe," Ranger said, running his fingertips over Stephanie's face, "You're looking much better, much more healthier."

"I feel it," Stephanie said softly, as Ranger sat down beside her, pulling her close, "I don't know about you, but I'm starving, Where's Diesel with breakfast, he promised me waffles."

Jeanne appeared in the door way with cereal. She appeared to have not slept through the night, her eyes were bloodshot and she shuffled into the dining room.

"Here," Jeanne said, dropping cereal on the table, "Milk's in the fridge, you know where it's at, I'm going back to bed."

"Hey!" Stephanie said sitting, "I was promised waffles, not Life cereal."

"Diesel's busy at the moment, and Heidi will not be joining us for a while, she has business to attend to," Jeanne said before she left the dining room, which exploded in hurried conversations. Why did Heidi leave in the middle of healing Stephanie? what was Diesel doing?

"I hope they're okay," Stephanie said biting her lip, "Something tells me that something happened…."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

She dreamt of the white lion, standing proud and tall on the edge of the river in the savannahs. His blue eyes were soft, full of love and devotion. Heidi herself stood before the lion, her body full of confusion and turmoil. She loved him, she loved the god that saved her, but now, she didn't know if she wanted to be with him. Diesel and her, they've been together for so long, they truly were in love, they had real true love, they were like puzzle pieces, it would crush his soul when she left to go with the one who saved her.

"Your soul is troubled," The lion spoke softly, walking over to Heidi, "What is it, my only one?"

"I…I love you," Heidi said, hugging the Lion's head, earning a nuzzle of affection, "But…there is another, and I love him as much as I love you."

The lion chuckled and said, "Do not worry about it, my rare beauty, these things happen for a reason, when the time comes, all will be right, do you trust me?"

"I do, I trust you with my heart and my soul, my body and my mind," Heidi said leaning down to kiss the lion, "It was you who saved me from certain death, it was you who loved me as much as my parents did."

"Then trust that all will be right in the world," The lion said, just as the savannahs began to faded around the two, "Trust is all I ask for."

"I trust you, my love," Heidi said, just as the lion, like the savannahs faded into nothing, leaving Heidi to wake up.

"Heidi," Diesel said to the woman, watching her wake up, "You're alright, you scared me…."

Heidi turned to Diesel and looked into his eyes. She always loved his eyes, they reminded her of the eyes of the lion, so blue and deep, like the sky. Heidi let out a soft gasp, as Diesel grabbed her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," Diesel said softly, tears in his eyes, "You looked so small, surrounded by blood in the shrine, I thought you were dead."

"I am sorry Thaddeus," Heidi said softly, hugging the man back, "I thought I had a chance to set up the purifying circle after I had gotten rid of the cancer in her lymph nodes, like I usually do with all my healing."

"You fool," Diesel said kissing Heidi, "You damn fool! Cancer is not like the small pox, nor is it like a broken limb, its worse, and it eats away at your body for a long time. Stephanie's had it for nearly a year, it's been eating away at her, and for to believe that you could accept it and then take your time to get rid of it from your system, you damn fool!"

"I know I am a fool," Heidi said softly, tears pricking her eyes, "But you and I both know, I would have never died, I am unable to, remember? I am immortal."

"Yes, I know you are, but it still scares me, when you do things like that," Diesel said softly, "Taking people's illness, putting it in your own body….it scares me."

"I want nothing more than to dress you in silver and gold, and never let you go," Diesel whispered in Heidi's ear, earning a wide eyed look from the woman, "that's what I always think, whenever I'm around you…"

"You…" Heidi said, before Diesel kissed her again, shushing her up.

"Be quiet, and go back to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up," Diesel said laying Heidi back down on the soft futon, "I'll always be here for you."

"Funny," Heidi said sleepily, a small smile on her lips, "A lion told me that before, years and years ago."

Once Heidi was fast asleep, Diesel smiled and said, "I know…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"How is she?" Diesel looked up from the cake he was making and turned to see Ranger in the doorway of the kitchen, "Heidi, how is Heidi?"

"She's away on business," Diesel said simply, cracking eggs to foam egg whites, "She'll be back…"

"You can tell everyone else that, but I know better, I saw you, late last night, holding Heidi, who had been covered in blood, what happened?"

Diesel sighed softly and turned to Ranger, " do you know how she heals people? I'll tell you, she places her hands on them, and takes the illnesses they have, putting it in her body, she then forces the body to regenerate and create new cells and tissues that had been damaged by the injuries or illnesses."

"So, if I were to have a broken arm…" Ranger started looking at Diesel.

"if she laid hands on the broken arm, she would heal it, but in turn she would then have the broken limb. Her body can heal itself, but when she takes someone else illness or injury, she needs help, which means she creates a purifying ring, which aids in purifying the illness and injury and healing Heidi in the process." Diesel said softly, "The foolish woman, she thought the cancer would be like healing any other illness, so she didn't set up a purifying ring before she treated Stephanie. When I found her…she looked like death, covered in blood, not breathing. I had to set the ring up and purify her myself."

Ranger walked over to Diesel and asked, "She's alright now, right?"

"Yes, very weak, but alright," Diesel said before he went back to making the cake, "She'll be up and about in a few days, she didn't know how taxing it would be to except stage four cancer."

Ranger had new found respect for Heidi. To accept someone's illness and pain, and heal them, it was an act that not many people would willingly do, and yet she had been doing it or a long time. Ranger made a mental note to give Heidi a present after all this was done. She might huff and puff, but she would take his gift.

"How do you feel about it?" Ranger asked Diesel startling the man, "Aren't you worried about her?"

"I always am," Diesel said with a smile, "But, I know my Heidi, she's stronger than you think, you may see a frail sickly woman, but I see a strong lioness, who protects and love the ones closest to her, she is a powerful woman, she can handle herself, our women, Ranger, are alike, right? We worry about them, but we both know…."

"That they can handle anything and everything thrown at them," Ranger murmured, earning a nod from Diesel, "I'm just lucky that Jeanne asked Heidi for a favor, I don't think Stephanie was handling it as well…"

"Luck?" Diesel asked, turning to Ranger, "I might be channeling my inner Heidi, but I believe it was fate that brought us together, luck and coincidences has nothing to do with it. We were meant to meet, and Heidi was meant to heal Stephanie."

With that Diesel went silent, going back to making his cake, and Ranger took that as a cue to leave the man. the words that Diesel told him, laid heavy on his mind. Fate was always something he didn't believe in, but maybe….maybe it was fate who led Stephanie to him, maybe it wasn't just luck, maybe it had been written somewhere that they would be together, and that they just didn't know it yet.

Ranger smiled as he sat down beside Stephanie on the porch. The group was enjoying watermelon, trying to stave off the late June heat. Stephanie offered him a slice and asked, "I've never seen you smile like that before, what happened?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about fate…." Ranger said, kissing Stephanie, before he bit the cold fruit, "It's a funny thing you know…"

TBC….

(Reviews are loved, I love your feed back 8^3)


	15. Heroes need Heroes

Chapter 15, enjoy!

A Healing Hand

_Heroes Need Heroes_

The group had been in the city, when Ranger found the perfect gift to give to Heidi. It was the day before Lula, Tank, Edna and Frank were to leave to go back to New Jersey. They spent most of the day in the city, enjoying a festival and exploring the city some more. They had gone by a small shop, when Ranger spotted the gift. It had been in the window front of the store, nestled in a bed of velvet. It was a charm bracelet made of white gold and it had only one charm; a raindrop made from a precious blue stone. It couldn't be sapphire, like the color of Stephanie's eyes, it was a deeper blue, something… different. Ranger went into the shop and bought it, and was mildly surprised it only cost 5000 yen, or roughly around 50 American dollars. The shop keeper told him that she had had the bracelet appraised and the appraiser couldn't give her a value, due to the fact that they didn't know what kind of stone it was. Ranger bought the bracelet quickly, asked for it to be gift wrapped and then left the shop, with his purchase, to go back and join the group.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Did you know," Heidi started, exhaling purple smoke from her mouth, "That Alexander the Great as one of my lovers?"

"Shut up," Stephanie said with a giggle, looking over to the only person who didn't go into town, "You're starting to sound like my grandma."

Heidi passed Stephanie her pipe and said, "It is the truth, Stephanie, I am about to tell you something, something that you must know, about me, please do not tell anyone."

Stephanie wrapped her lips around the pipe and inhaled, expecting to inhale something foul tasting, but found it sweet and mild. She nodded her head, holding the smoke in her lungs, before she exhaled, feeling light headed.

"I am special, as you know, I was blessed by a god, who will return to me, one and take me as his wife. I have lived for a long time, longer than written history. I have traveled around the world, several thousand times, healing and aiding the sick and the injured. Along the way, I have met many different people, learned many different languages, loved many different men…." Heidi said softly, her face flushing with pleasure, "I have had princes, lords, peasants, and priests as lovers, do not call me a harlot, Stephanie, I am just a woman, who sometimes, outlived her lovers."

Stephanie blushed, leaning close to Heidi, mindful of the dull ache in her joints, "It must have been something, to have met such historically famous people, and then to sleep with them as well."

"Alexander was a wonderful lover," Heidi said with a sigh, fanning herself gently, her face even more flushed, "He saved me from some bandits, they were trying to have their way with me, but, he came sweeping though, on a white horse, killing all the bandits."

Stephanie let out a sigh as Heidi said, "He fell in love with at the first sight of this 'exotic Nubian goddess, and took me to his palace, he had no other woman, but I on his mind. He could never get enough of me, and I him. He was so strong…."

"What happened?" Stephanie asked Heidi who was still fanning herself, "Did he die of old age?"

"No, he got rid of me, because I could not bear him an heir," Heidi sighed, looking down at her hands, "He thought my womb was cursed, and had me executed, by dismemberment."

Stephanie grabbed her throat, her eyes wide with horror, "Holy shit! Do you mean?"

"I was pulled apart by four horses," Heidi said with a huff, rubbing her arms as if she could still feel it, "Not one of my painless deaths, but not the most painful one, that would have to be when the Inquisition dug rusted nails into my body, every square inch had been covered in nails, not a fun way to die at all."

Heidi snatched the pipe from Stephanie and took a long and deep drag, "The price I pay for being immortal, I supposed," Purple smoke blowing out her nose and mouth.

"Who was your favorite lover?" Stephanie asked, with a blush, "I'm sorry, Heidi, if I'm sounding a bit-"

"Thaddeus," Heidi said simply, "Or as you all call him, Diesel, he is my favorite lover. We have been together for a long time, maybe about 60 years, it must be because of his unmentionable career that he has such a long life span, like me."

Stephanie smiled softly at the look of pure contentment on Heidi's face, "He is, without a doubt, the most attentive lover I have ever met, when we make love, he is always gentle, due to unforeseeable circumstances…"

"Such as?" Stephanie asked, laying on her stomach, looking up at Heidi who leaned back on the soft pillow she lay on.

"When I was blessed with everlasting life, I had been a virgin," Heidi said flushing, "Which means, every time Thaddeus and I have sex, he always, as you all put it, pops my cherry."

"Oh….but it hurts, you have to deal with that pain every time you do it?" Stephanie asked Heidi, earning a nod, "How do you handle it?!"

"Thaddeus calls me a masochist, but the truth is, I am use to the pain, so it does not affect me, there is the pain from the initial tearing of the hymen, and the stretching of muscles, but, after that it is nothing but a walk in the park."

Stephanie laughed out, but let out a groan of pain, rubbing her lower back. Heidi gave Stephanie the pipe and said, "Smoke, where is the pain?"

"On my lower spine," Stephanie said, as Heidi pulled her shirt open, her cold finger tips skimming her back, "It really hurts."

Heidi hummed, looking down, she could see it, the blackness that was the cancer it was much blacker than the cancer in her other bones, and the cancer that had been in her lymph nodes, it was spreading, going into Stephanie's nerves, eating away at the healthy nerve cells, this had to be taken care of tonight, or else Stephanie wouldn't be able to walk soon, no matter how many tiny tumors Heidi gotten rid of on Stephanie's joints and limbs. Heidi frowned, and said, "Not good, it is spreading. Go upstairs, lay on your back, I will be up there in a moment, I am going to leave a note for the group, and then I will make you something you can eat quickly, I see we will have to rid you of the cancer in spine tonight."

Stephanie got up and shuffled upstairs to the bedroom she and Ranger were staying in. She let out a whimper of pain as something twitched in her back, it hurt so badly. It had been a strange tingling for the last several days, but now it was nothing but pain. Stephanie stopped once, to smoke briefly from the long stem pipe that Heidi had given her, trying to get her mind off of the pain.

Stephanie felt frail hands on her waist, and then Heidi was helping her up the stairs, and into the large bedroom, placing Stephanie on the futon. Stephanie was shuffled around, so that she was halfway in Heidi's lap, her head resting on Heidi's chest. Heidi forced a glass full of something murky and brown under Stephanie's nose and said, "Drink it, you will need to finish it all."

Stephanie grabbed the cup and took a sip. It was chocolate flavored, with an earthy after taste. Stephanie drank it quickly and then asked, "What was that?"

"Instant carnation, whey and seaweed powder with raw egg." Heidi said simply, before she laid Stephanie on her stomach, "I have to light the incense burners, try not to move, the cancer has destroyed several nerve cells, which is why you are feeling the pain in your lower back."

"What?" Stephanie exclaimed, watching Heidi light the small jade burners, "Heidi, what will happen If you wait?"

"You will not be able to walk," Heidi said, before she walked over to Stephanie and pulled the shirt Stephanie wore off her, "Relax, if the pain becomes too much, inhale deeply, I am burning herbs to curb the pain and discomfort you will feel, the pipe is beside you if you need it."

"I'm scared," Stephanie confessed, earning a soft arm squeeze from Heidi.

"It is alright, I am scared as well," Heidi said, before she slid her cool hand on the second to last vertebrate on Stephanie's spine. Heidi had not been saying that she was scared just to sooth Stephanie, she was honestly scared, the cancer in the lymph nodes had hurt her badly, what would this cancer do? Well it was too late now, the moment her hands had touched the cancer infected area, the black inky darkness had honed in on her.

Stephanie let out a sound as the icy coldness entered her spine, wrapping around it, digging deep into her spine, as if too push something out of her. It wasn't like the lymph nodes, this was bone deep, and it had Stephanie shivering from it, it was as if she had been dunked in an ice cold bath. Stephanie inhaled the scent of burning herbs, to distract her from the feeling of ice cold spikes being dug into her spine. It was working, because the ice cold pain seemed to be numbed down now.

Heidi could only watch the black inkiness crawl through her fingers, up her arms. It felt like slick oil sliding through her, making its way down to where the cancer resided originally in Stephanie; her lower spine. It made her whimper from the sensation, arching her back as it quickly ate away at her healthy cells. She couldn't stop now, she had to heal Stephanie, and if she lifted her fingertips up, the cancer would return back into Stephanie's body. That wasn't what she wanted.

The first painful spasm had Heidi almost choking on her tongue. She had to accept all of the cancer that Stephanie had to deal with for a whole year, in minutes. She could feel it, spreading in her lower spine, eating at her marrow, at her bone, her nerves, everything and anything the ink cancer could find. Just because she was immortal, it didn't mean she couldn't feel pain, she felt it all the time.

Heidi turned her head to the side, biting through her tongue as the pain hit her all at once. This would be a long session, she could tell.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a soft sound, sitting up, for the first time in a long time, pain free. She smiled, popping her joints and stretching her cramped limbs. She had no pain in her lower back and she was feeling great! Stephanie sat up on her knees, and said, "Heidi, I feel great! Just in time too, the group should be back in like an hour, we can surprise them-"

Stephanie turned, and faltered, seeing Heidi lying on her side, not moving. Stephanie got up and walked over to Heidi saying, "Heidi…wake up, I'm feeling great now…Heidi?"

Stephanie turned Heidi over and let out a gasp. Heidi's face was slack, her amber eyes glazed over, a small trickle of blood falling down the side of her face. Her body, Stephanie now noticed, was twisted in an odd position, as if she had been in so much pain, she broke something important trying to alleviate the pain. Stephanie shook Heidi saying, "Heidi, you're immortal, right, you should be awake now, death can't stop you, right?"

Stephanie felt tears fill her eyes and she said, "Heidi, wake up, please wake up, Heidi!"

When Heidi didn't move, Stephanie began to sob saying, "Heidi! Please don't be dead, please, please"!

Stephanie looked around and then said, "Diesel…Diesel….where are you, Diesel?

Stephanie got up and stumbled over to the closed door. she slid it open and nearly screamed in terror as Lester grabbed her.

"Woah now, beautiful," Lester said calming Stephanie down, "Hey, you're walking pretty fine, are you-"

"Heidi needs help" Stephanie said in a sob, "Heidi needs help, she's not moving, I think she's dead."

Lester let go of Stephanie and went over to Heidi's form, his face getting darker with every step he took. He turned to Stephanie and said, in a low voice, "go outside, close the door, I'm going to go and get Diesel and Jeanne."

Stephanie nodded her head and walked out the room, leaning against the wall for support, her throat clogged with sobs. She covered her mouth and shut her eyes as the tears ran hot down her face. She had fallen asleep during the healing, she hadn't heard Heidi make a single sound, did this all occur when Stephanie had been sleeping?

"Stephanie," Stephanie looked up seeing Ranger, "Babe."

"Oh Ranger, Heidi's-" Stephanie started, but a sob escaped her throat, "Oh god, I killed her."

Ranger enveloped Stephanie in his arms and said, "Shush, Diesel has her now, Jeanne said she'll be fine, she just needs some time."

Stephanie nodded her head and said, "Okay, she better be fine, she has to be fine, she's done so much for me."

"She's done so much for everyone," Ranger said softly, hugging Stephanie to him, "I can't begin to even thank her myself. She saved you Stephanie, and I'll never be able to repay her back for what she's done…"

Stephanie and Ranger turned as the sliding door was kicked out, and Diesel walked swiftly down the hallway, holding Heidi's small body, which had been covered with a white sheet. Diesel turned to Stephanie and said in a seriousvoice, "Even immortals have their limits…"before he rushed down the stairs with Heidi in his arms.

Jeanne walked up to Stephanie and crouched in front of her. she ran her fingers over Stephanie's face and said, "You're looking much better, Plum, don't worry, Heidi will be fine, Diesel has her, though I have a feeling, we won't be seeing those two for a while."

"Why not?" Lester asked walking up to Jeanne, who sighed softly and looked at the three.

"Heidi put herself in danger, knowingly," Jeanne said going over to the broken door and picking it up, "She knew that once she started, she couldn't stop the process, no matter how much it hurt her. She just gives, gives and gives, without taking, and sometimes…she forgets that there are people in this world who truly care for her silly self. She forgets that when she hurts, so do we…."

Lester helped Jeanne pick up the other door and said, "I see, it's alright to be selfless, but sometimes, even a hero needs a hero."

"I'm just glad her hero knows what he's doing," Jeanne whispered, before she turned back to Stephanie, You must be starving, your dad has the grill started, let's go cook something."

Stephanie blushed as her stomach made noises of agreement, "Sure, I wouldn't mind something to eat."

"Babe, I'm sure you could eat a horse," Ranger said, helping Stephanie up and together, the group went downstairs.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I made you worry again," A soft voice said above the soft din of the waterfall, "I am sorry, Diesel."

"Don't be," Diesel responded, his hands interlacing with Heidi's small one, "You just forget that I hurt when you hurt."

Heidi turned her head on Diesel's lap and frowned, "I never knew that the pool the waterfall fell in was so large ,I never knew that the waterfall was this big."

Diesel had taken her to the waterfall that was in the woods behind her mansion. Right now, they were in the cool waters, Diesel sitting in the shallows, with Heidi's head in his lap, the cool waters lapping at their clothes.

"There was a reason I choose Kyoto," Diesel said looking into the dark skies, "apart from the mystical lure it has to offer, there are several places to heal and purify people like us."

"Ah….though, Diesel, Kyoto is not the only place to have that power," Heidi said from her perch, a smile on her face, "In fact, there is a powerful purifying ring at Stonehenge.

"Indeed," Diesel said with a smile, "But, I choose Kyoto as well, because Stephanie has to deal with people wanting to run her life, The language barrier here is a great source of protection."

"Indeed it is," Heidi said, looking up at the sky as well, the stars bright, "I had to heal her then and now, or else the cancer would have taken away her ability to walk, I knew when I saw it, I would be putting myself in danger."

Diesel made a sound in the back of his throat and said, "The last bit of cancer you have to deal with, we'll do it together, no more doing this alone, you have people who care about you, Heidi."

"Okay," Heidi said with a smile, closing her eyes, "We will do it together."

"Together," Diesel reaffirmed, holding tight to Heidi's hand, "Heidi, I love you, ever since I laid eyes on you, all those years back, when you were helpless on the raft going down the river. I knew, in my heart, that we would be together…."

Diesel looked down at Heidi's sleeping form and said, "Maybe, when you are strong enough, I'll tell you everything, but for now, sleep."

Diesel kissed her lips and looked back up at the sky, a smile on his face.

TBC…..

(Reviews are loved, I love your feedback.)


	16. The Lion Has Returned

Chapter 16, enjoy! a chapter or two left for this tale!

Warning: Smut

Disclaimer in chapter 1

A Healing Hand

_The Lion Has returned_

"Hey you two! No playing games around the bed sheets, I just washed them!" Jeanne shouted at Lester and Stephanie, before she chased them away with the carpet beater, "If you get them muddy 'm kicking both your asses!"

Lester and Stephanie laughed out loud, before they ran off into the house. Jeanne shook her head and mumbled, "Immature," before she went back to hanging the wet bedding.

Ranger smiled, watching Stephanie run around, it had been a rough week, but after the healing of her spine, Stephanie seemed to be feeling much better. So much better that she had pounced on Ranger in the middle of the night, purring about needs that needed to be fulfilled. He made sure to fulfill them at least three times that night. It had felt wonderful being inside Stephanie, being inside the woman he loved so much, it was a reunion they both savored, like men in the desert who found an oasis. Afterwards, they lay in the bed, whispering words of comfort and love. He asked if they would still have the Hawaiian themed wedding, in which Stephanie responded with a "Yes!"

Ranger reached out and grabbed Stephanie as she ran by, earning a breathless giggle and a breathless, "Ranger!"

Ranger leaned down and kissed Stephanie saying, "I love you, I love you, I love you…."

"Jeez, you've turned this badass into a softie," Lester chuckled, walking past the couple and over to Jeanne, "Gina, baby, do you-"

"Less talking, more hanging up bedding," Jeanne sing song, placing a large sheet covered in koi fishes on the line, "But yes, Ranger has gone soft on us, and I for one, think it's a good change."

Lester stuck his tongue out at Jeanne, but helped her place the sheets on the clothes line. It felt almost surreal, being here, doing laundry as if they haven't a care in the world. It was as if Stephanie never had cancer and came close to dying from it. It felt like a typical lazy summer day.

Stephanie sighed, leaning into Ranger's arms and looking out at the drying bed sheets, "When are Heidi and Diesel coming back?"

Jeanne walked out the house with a tray full of snacks, "I don't know, hopefully soon, it's been a week since we've saw them, and I'm getting worried, what if Heidi isn't alright."

"She's fine," Stephanie said softly, climbing out of Ranger's lap, "She's a strong person, I have no doubt in my mine that Heidi is fine, maybe she and Diesel wanted some alone time, they do have a deep relationship, you know."

"I guess you could be right," Jeanne said, sitting on the porch, "They do have a deep relationship, even if Diesel is a dick, that piece of shit, always finding chances to make fun of me, Lester, why don't you defend my honor?!"

"I don't really need to," Lester said with a nervous smile, "My Jeanne is strong enough to beat up Diesel, right, you don't need me to beat him up for you."

Jeanne smiled and said, hugging Lester's arm, "I knew there was a reason why I loved you…don't ever leave me again, let's get married."

"Marriage?" Lester said, before he looked down at Jeanne, who smiled coyly and nodded her head, "You want to marry me?"

"Mhmm, we've been together for three years, why wait, let's get married, we can go down to the municipal building and get our marriage license!

Lester melted at the smile Jeanne gave him, "Why the hell not, let's get married."

Jeanne got up and pulled Lester up with her, "Bye Ranger, bye Plum, Lester and I are getting married!" leading Lester into the house.

Stephanie waved after them saying, "Congrats! Good for them, I'm glad they're-"

"Let's get married too," Ranger said, kissing Stephanie, "we have less reasons not to get married, I love you, and it doesn't matter if we don't have a ceremony now, we can have one later, with our friends and family let's just go down to the building and get the papers."

Stephanie thought about it, it wouldn't be a hardship if they got married, they loved each other very much and really, that's all that mattered, right? It didn't matter if they had an audience or not, it didn't matter if they got married with a lavish ceremony or not, as long as they were together.

"Okay, let's get married!" Stephanie said with a smile, before she pulled Ranger up, in the same way that Jeanne pulled Lester up and together the two went after Jeanne and Lester.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I'm thankful the lady at the municipal building was kind enough to request US marriage documents from the embassy," Stephanie said, looking over to Ranger as they returned to the mansion in the woods, "It's official, we're married now!"

"So are we!" Jeanne squealed, kissing Lester soundly, "I can't believe it! We are officially, Mr. and Mrs. Santos, that's all I would change, my last name."

"And you're now Stephanie Manoso," Ranger purred, kissing Stephanie on her lips, holding Stephanie's hand tightly, "We should celebrate our nuptials."

"I think so too," Lester said to Jeanne who smiled and nodded her head, grabbing Lester's arm.

"Oh, there is some peach sake in the kitchen and some cake, let's eat that!" Jeanne said as they entered the mansion.

"SURPRISE!" Two voices boomed, causing Jeanne to yelp and jump behind Lester, "CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR MARRIAGE!"

Heidi and Diesel were waiting for them in the foyer. The moment the two had stepped inside they had let off a round of pull string poppers, showering them in cheap paper ribbons and glitter.

"Heidi, Diesel!" Stephanie said, running up to the two and hugging them, "You're back! how'd you know about us getting married?"

"Well," Diesel said with a smile, "We had just come back, and were about to come and see you all, but then we heard Jeanne shout that she was getting married, and then you left as well to get married to Ranger, we decided that we'll hang back, and prepare a feast for you."

"Congratulations, you four," Heidi said, leading them into the dining room, "This is a wonderful journey you are about to embark, to share the rest of your life with someone you love…."

Heidi swooned and leaned against the door frame with a small smile. Diesel shook his head and said, "Dramatic much?"

They ate with gusto, chatting happily about the plans they were going to do later on down the road.

"I want to go to Bali," Jeanne said to Lester, "For our honeymoon, we could spend three weeks there, lounging in the sands, drinking cocktails, and making love…."

"Oh, that sounds great, in fact, I'll go book us a room on the beach," Lester said leaning into Jeanne's caresses.

"I want to go somewhere nice as well, maybe the Virgin Islands," Stephanie said with a smiled, "I like Jeanne's idea, but I want to do it all with you."

"Anywhere you want to go babe, and I'll make it happen." Ranger said with a smile, kissing his wife.

"Oh, but I still have cancer, we'll have to wait until it's all gone," Stephanie said with a sigh, putting her bowl down, "We could do it next year, right?"

"Why next year?" Heidi asked her eyes soft, "All you have left is the cancer in your femurs, once the cancer is gone there, you will be cancer free, I say, you should plan for next month, and stay for three weeks.

Stephanie could not believe what Heidi just told her, she was almost cancer free, free from illnesses, pains, tiredness, free from it all. Stephanie turned to Ranger who smiled softly at her and said, "I'll book a villa for three weeks, just you and me."

Stephanie turned to Heidi and asked, "When's the last session?"

"Tomorrow," Heidi said with a smile, grabbing Diesel's hand, "Diesel and I will rid you o the cancer tomorrow."

"This calls for some more booze and food!" Diesel said getting up and grabbing the other bottle of sake, "I say we have a toast, to the newly wedded couples, and to Stephanie getting all better from the cancer!"

"Here, here!" Lester said, while Diesel poured the alcohol, "To beautiful, to feeling as right as rain very soon."

"And to the wonderful years you all will have with each other," Heidi said, chugging her booze down in one go. She smiled to Diesel, before looking around at her friends. After tomorrow, who knows where they will be.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"You're drunk," Diesel said to Heidi, as they stumbled into the master bedroom of the mansion, "I've never seen you drunk before, how does it feel?"

"I will tell you, when the room stops spinning," Heidi slurred, grabbing onto Diesel's arm as he slid the master bedroom door closed, "Thaddeus, make the room stop spinning, please?"

"I can't make the room stop spinning, but I can lay you down, so you won't fall on your face." Diesel said kindly, helping Heidi over to the bed, and laying her on it, "You're going to have a massive hangover, you drunk two bottles of sake yourself."

"It is a time for celebration," Heidi said with a giggle, pulling Diesel on top of her, wrapping her limbs around him, "Now, tell me something I do not know, tell me a story."

"A story," Diesel asked, kissing Heidi softly, "I have a story, but it's a true story, okay?"

"Okay," Heidi said with a small smile, "Tell me now!"

"It's a story about a majestic lion, who was really a god in secret, you see, this god was quite powerful and would sometimes appear in the area where humans lived. He could be any shape he wanted to be from a mighty whale, to the smallest blade of grass. The god may be mighty and powerful, but he was quite lonely, and desired companionship," Diesel said watching Heidi's eyes loud with confusion, "One day, while the lion was out in the tall grass in Africa, he saved a man, a magical man, from being killed by a pack of hyenas. The magical man was so thankful that the god saved him that he asked the lion if he had any desires, anything he wanted at all. The lion was a god, he had everything he wanted, except for companionship, so he asked the magical man for companionship. The magical man agreed and told the lion to go down to the river, 16 summers from now, and a companion will come to him. Well the Lion didn't believe the magical man, but he did what he was told to do. 16 summers later, he went down to the river, waiting patiently. The lion had been at his wits end, by the end of the night, he was about to leave when a raft made of reeds, went slowly down the river, and on the raft lay the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, she had hair blacker than the night sky, and amber eyes of the purest honey. She was a sickly looking thing, her body frail from an unknown illness. The lion was so enamored with the frail woman that he wasted no time in saving her from the river. The woman begged for the lion to eat her and to end her life, but the lion wouldn't do any of the sort, the lion spoke to her and said that he would heal her, and then awaken her gifts, because the lion could see that this woman was powerful in the art of healing. He would heal her, and make her his wife, to dress her in silver and gold and to make sure never went without. The woman agreed, stirred by his words, and then the lion healed her and besotted her with the gift of everlasting life. He wanted to take her with him now, but he had to wait, due to the fact that there were things going on that he needed to see to. He told the woman that he would return to her, when the time was right, and make her his wife. The woman nodded her head, gave the lion a gift and left, to heal the sick and injured and to travel the world, and the lion waited, waited for the perfect moment to take what was his, his beautiful flower that saved countless of lives and never asked for anything in return, who gave herself the name Heidi."

Diesel looked down at Heidi, who let out a sob and said, "You have returned for me, my lion," making Diesel nod his head and lean down to kiss her.

"Yes, after you heal Stephanie, I'm taking you away, dressing you In silver and gold and making sure you never need anything," Diesel said watching Heidi smile through the tears that fell.

"I am so happy," Heidi said before she went limp passing out from the alcohol in her system.

Diesel leaned forward and kissed Heidi's lips saying, "I'm happy too," before he slid on his side and fell asleep, his arms around Heidi's frame.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Ranger let out a low groan of pleasure as a tongue swept over the head of his cock. He bucked up as the tongue swept around the head over and over again, before a mouth engulfed the sensitive head. He flexed his hips up as the mouth began to bob up and down him, that sinful tongue turning him into a pile of goo. Ranger let out a hiss as fingers toyed with his sack, and that damn mouth, that wonderful damn mouth was sending him on the edge.

Ranger let out a growl, opening his eyes and in a second, had Stephanie pinned to the soft futon, his powerful body in between her thighs. Stephanie smiled innocently up at him and said, "Yes, Ranger?"

"Babe, you're playing with fire," Was all Ranger said, before he kissed Stephanie deeply, and entered her In one push, all the way to the hilt, causing them both to cry out in pure bliss. The pace was fast and rough, there would be no gentle love making, just a fast and satisfying fuck. It had been a long time since they've done that, and I felt so fucking good.

Stephanie let out a low cry wrapping her arms around Ranger as he pounded in her. the little white stars she saw as they had sex were getting bigger and bigger. Ranger was hitting that spot in her oh so well! Stephanie bit her lip, looking up at Ranger who looked down at his brown chocolate eyes were black with lust and want. She leaned up and kissed him, their tongues battling each other, teeth clashing, moans ripping from their throat . It was as if they were trying to see who would cave in first and cum. Stephanie let out a moan, as the curling in her stomach tightened up and then snapped, causing an earth shattering orgasm to tear through her body, making her scream out in pleasure, grinding into Ranger, who groan roughly in her ear, thrusting quickly in her. As the muscles around Ranger went slack, he piston into Stephanie who moaned weakly, arching her back like a cat who had gotten a large saucer of cream. Ranger let out a hissed, "You're looking real pleased," a smile on his face.

"Indeed, I got the fucking that I've been waiting for months," Stephanie groaned clenching her muscles around her husband, "And I got it from my husband…."

Ranger let out a low groan, climaxing into Stephanie, before he lay tangled up on the futon, blankets surrounding them, "I'm glad I could please my wife…."

Stephanie laid her head on Ranger's chest and said, "It's going to be sad, leaving this place, I love it, it's so peaceful and there's no annoying mother to butt in and try to rule my life, and there's not cops betting on my life…it's just us and people around me that care about me."

"If you want, we could live far away from Trenton, start somewhere new, anywhere." Ranger said with a smile, "Europe, Canada, anywhere."

"I would love to live in California," Stephanie said with a small smile, "Somewhere near Napa Valley, making wine."

"Making wine?" Ranger asked with a chuckle earning a pout from Stephanie, "You want to make wine?"

"Well, drink it more like it," Stephanie said sitting up to look at Ranger, "And we can ride bikes down a dirt road, and have a picnic and make love under a big tree."

"That does sound tempting," Ranger said wrapping his arms around Stephanie and kissing her, "We should talk about it some more, for now, let's go get breakfast, it's nearly ten, and I'm sure the beast needs feeding."

"You're right," Stephanie said with a giggle, getting out of the futon and walking over to the bathroom, "Come take a shower with me?" Stephanie asked, wiggling her bottom.

"Babe," Ranger growled, before he followed Stephanie into the bathroom.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Good morning!" Lester said walking into the kitchen, seeing Heidi and Diesel in there already. Eatng at the table, "Lovely day we'll be having!"

"Ugh…" Heidi groaned, from her spot, her face in her arms, "Shut up, I have a headache…."

Jeanne smiled pinching at Heidi's arm, causing her to whine in pain, "That's what you get for drinking so much! mI had fun last night, Lester and I tried lots of new positions."

"I do not want to hear this." Heidi whined, looking up with blood shot eyes, "Spare us all the details."

"No fun at all," Jeanne said sitting down to eat, "That's what happens when you drink too much…."

"Morning!" Stephanie chirped walking into the kitchen with Ranger, "Mmm, bacon and eggs, I like the sounds of that."

"Shut up," Heidi whined, plugging her ears up, "I am trying to sleep."

The group ate in silence, chatting quietly to one another about trivial matters. Diesel wanted to try a new cake recipe, Lester and Jeanne wanted to shop for wedding bands, and Stephanie and Ranger were talking about real estate in Napa California. Everyone was in high spirits and the day seemed to fit the mood. Heidi lifted her head and sad with a soft smile, "When you are done eating, we can go on and heal you of your cancer, Stephanie, hangover is gone, and I am feeling much better now."

Stephanie felt the butterflies in her stomach, "Okay, I just don't want you to look the way you did when you got rid of the cancer in my back."

"Don't worry," Diesel said wrapping an arm around Heidi, who smiled brightly and leaned into Diesel's embrace, "She's not doing it alone, she has me, and Jeanne and everyone else, we're not letting her fly solo again."

Stephanie smiled and looked around at the table, "Well, let's hurry and eat, so I can get cured of my cancer!"

TBC…..

(Reviews are loved, I love feedback :3)


	17. A Healing Hand

Last chapter, I know, -sob-

Enjoy! I thought I put up the last chapter before I got into my new Sims 3 game (I'm an addict, what can I sayz...)

Disclaimer in chapter 1!

A Healing Hand

_A Healing Hand_

It was raining and muggy, not two combinations that Stephanie loved. It matched the feelings she had as well. Stephanie and Ranger were back in Trenton, driving to Princeton so Stephanie could get an MRI, to prove that she didn't have any cancer. They had left Kyoto, Diesel and Heidi yesterday and spent the night and most of the day sleeping. Lester and Jeanne left Kyoto as well, Lester because of work and Jeanne because Heidi told her that her services would no longer be needed. It was an amusing sight to watch Jeanne cry her eyes out, hugging Heidi and blubbering about how she would miss her and Diesel. It made Stephanie's throat close up, this would probably be the last time she saw Heidi, she had come to see the woman as a friend, and saying goodbye to friends was a tough thing to do.

Ranger had shocked them all, when he gave Heidi a present. He gave her a charm bracelet with a single blue stone that was shaped like a raindrop. Heidi had gushed and complimented him for a long time, before she gave it to Stephanie and told her to take it. Stephanie had tried to give it back to Heidi, but the woman shook her head and told them both, "It would not do me any good, it is a lovely charm bracelet, but I have no use for it, its usage would better fit you both."

Heidi gave Ranger a kiss on the cheek, warned him to take care of Stephanie and to treat her well. The woman then grabbed Stephanie's cheek, kissed it softly, making Stephanie blush, and told her to take care of herself, and that she would send her a wedding gift soon. Stephanie had told her that curing of her of cancer was the best gift she could ever have, but Heidi told her that she had a few more gifts for her. Diesel took them all home, and then left with a cheerful, "Smell Ya later," going back to be with Heidi.

Stephanie turned to Ranger and said, "I miss being in Kyoto, I don't want to go back to the real world."

"Babe, I know, I don't want to either, but, we're grown ups and we have to deal with grown up stuff, like making plans for a wedding ceremony at Point Pleasant."

Stephanie smiled and said, "I can't wait to see you in a Hawaiian shirt," turning to her husband and earning a groan, "Oh yes, and doughnuts for days! I want Boston crèmes, and jelly filled and glazed and sprinkles…"

"Babe, I think we can come up with compromise," Ranger said as he pulled into the Princeton Medical Hospital, "Here we are, let's go and see Dr. Brittany."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Amazing," Dr. Brittany said softly, looking at the images from Stephanie's CT scan, "Absolutely amazing! Stephanie, you're cancer free, and looking quite healthy, it's like you've never had cancer at all."

Stephanie smiled and grabbed Ranger's hand, "Well, I had a lot of help from close family and friends, though without my doctor, I wouldn't be sitting here, giving you this statement."

"You have to give me her number, whatever she's done, it could help a lot of cancer patients out." Doctor Brittany said with excitement, "She found a cure for cancer."

Stephanie smiled sadly and said, "I can't give you her number, or any form of contact, she doesn't have any way in contacting her, she just appears when she's really needed."

"She could become famous, the person to find a cure for cancer…"

Stephanie's thoughts lingered to the day Heidi finally got rid of her cancer.

_Stephanie sat on the futon, watching as Diesel lit the incense burner making the room fill with the scent of potent herbs and soft flowers. Heidi herself was sitting cross legged on the tatami covered floor, smoking deeply from her long stem pipe, purple smoke curling underneath her nose. It was dark now, maybe past 10 at night, the only light came from the candles that were placed around the room they were in. Ranger, Jeanne and Lester were downstairs, waiting for them to finish the last healing session._

_Diesel turned to Heidi and said softly, "It's time, Heidi, let's do it."_

_Heidi got up slowly, walking over to Diesel and giving him the pipe, which he took a deep drag from. He tuned to Heidi and kissed her, and then pulled away from her as the smoke he inhaled blew out of her mouth._

_"Remember, you're not alone," Diesel said, before Heidi walked over to Stephanie and sat down beside her, "I won't let you go through that pain again."_

_"I know you will not," Heidi said before she turned to Stephanie and said, "It is time to rid you of the last of your cancer, now, lay down, just enjoy he sent of the incense burners and just drift away."_

_Stephanie did what she was told and slid down, watching as Heidi placed cold hands on her thighs. As she did, Diesel came over to Heidi and settled behind her, placing his hands on Heidi's small ones. Heidi watched in the dim light, as the black inky cancer slice from Stephanie's thighs and over to her cold fingers. It slid quickly up her arms making its way down to her thighs, eating away at the healthy cells it got a hold of. It felt weird to Stephanie, less painful than when the coldness settled in her spine. She wanted to clap her thighs together, she could feel herself shivering from the cold sensation. The coldness settled in her thighs, pushing out something and then settling in her bones. As soon as the cold settled in, the warmth came, spreading through her bones, every cell began to warm, and it made Stephanie feel pleasant. Stephanie opened her eyes, hearing a small whimper from above her._

_Heidi was hunched over her, her hands clamped onto Stephanie's thighs, her mouth so tightly closed that her lips were nothing but a thin line. Diesel kissed her neck softly, grabbing the soft hands and saying, "It's okay, your lion is here."_

_"Hurts…." Heidi whimpered, it was the first time Stephanie heard Heidi say anything during a healing session._

_"I know it does, but bear down, it'll be over soon," Diesel said, kissing Heidi deeply, to distract her from the pain._

_Stephanie felt the warmth spread, and then suddenly, it was gone, along with what little pain she had. Stephanie looked up, seeing Heidi leaning against Diesel, her breathing harsh, and her eyes half closed. Heidi turned her head to Stephanie and said in a soft voice, "You are healed, cancer free, now, go and tell your husband the good news," A smile on her face._

_Stephanie smiled and got up, hugging Heidi and Diesel softly saying in a soft voice, "Thank you, for everything you've done for me, Heidi."_

_Heidi smiled and said, "It was my pleasure, but please, Stephanie, do not tell anyone you do not trust about this, keep the cure to your cancer a secret."_

_"Why?" Stephanie asked, now curious, "I mean, this is really big, you can cure-"_

_"Because, like many times in the past, I will be labeled as some type of witch or creature," Heidi said softly, looking into Stephanie's face, "Many people do not comprehend the things I can do, and so, I to not bring danger upon myself, I make sure that no one figures out what I can do, think about it, Stephanie, if people were to find out what I can do, I would be taken off to laboratories, and experimented on, trying to find out how I do what I can do, it is best if your treatment be left a secret, not one of my clients has told anyone, and I doubt you will too."_

_Stephanie got down in front of Stephanie and said with a smile, "Okay, if it's the only way I can ever pay you back, I'll take this to the grave with me."_

_Heidi smiled softly and said, "Good, now, go and tell Carlos, Diesel and I have some purification to do."_

_Stephanie got up and left the couple, Heidi's secret safe with her._

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"No," Stephanie said softly, looking at Doctor Brittany, "If my doctor wishes to tell the world, then she will do it at her own discretion, but for now, her secret is safe with me."

Doctor Brittany smiled softly and said, "Well, okay, at least you are cured now, congratulations on getting better, I hope you have a long and wonderful life."

"I hope so too, you know, I was told the valley air in Napa was helpful," Stephanie said getting up and shaking Doctor Brittany's hand, "Maybe I should try wine making while I'm out there."

"If you do get into it, send me a bottle."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Ready to go?" Diesel asked Heidi, who was placing a simple velvet black box into a wooden box, "I know we have all the time in the world, but, I know there're several people who are dying to meet the woman who stole the heart of the loner lion."

Heidi smiled and turned to her husband, "Oh, almost ready, just putting the finishing touches on Stephanie's and Carlos's wedding gift, I hope they love it."

Diesel chuckled and walked over to his wife, "I know they will, I don't know about Ranger but Stephanie maybe…"

"Oh, it does not matter if Carlos does not like it, the other gift I gave them will surely make up for his negative reaction ," Heidi said with a soft smile, "Now, let us ship this to the couple and be on our way."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

It had to be one of the best weddings Stephanie ever threw. The first one with the dick didn't count, asshole. This wedding was special, because not only was it hers and Ranger wedding, it was Jeanne and Lester's wedding as well. In the weeks after them leaving Japan, Jeanne and Stephanie became fast friends, closer than the bond Stephanie and Mary Lou had. Of course they still fought like cats and dogs over certain things, but that was to be expected. They fought over the theme of the wedding, and in the end, they both got what they wanted. Jeanne had wanted an island getaway wedding, while Stephanie wanted a Hawaiian one. The men never looked so handsome in red and blue Hawaiian shirts with cutoff jeans, and matching straw hats. The bridesmaid all wore hula skirts and coconuts bra, even Lula, and that was such a sight! Stephanie and Jeanne wore matching white slik wedding dresses that were haltered top and ended at the knees, going with the island theme.

They had the ceremony on Point Pleasant, and invited all their friends and family. Of course there were unwanted guests, like Joe, who tried to stop the wedding from happening , but Grandma Mazur had used her Taser on him, and knocked him out cold. Helen tried to as well, saying she would disown Stephanie if she married that thug. Stephanie had told her to disown already, because they were already married, the ceremony was just a thing for them to with family and friends. Helen had caused a scene moaning and groaning, but a shock from Grandma Mazur's Taser shut her up real good. Stephanie was happy that they got to have a doughnut wedding cake, but Jeanne got to choose what kind of doughnuts they used. Stephanie was now a fan of kirspy kremes, but don't let the Tasty Pastry know that!

"Wow," Stephanie said with a sigh, walking beside Ranger on the beach, away from the large crowd, "Can you believe that less than three months ago, I was ready to die from cancer?"

"I don't believe it, Babe," Ranger said, spinning Stephanie around, "let's not dwell on it."

"I wonder what are Heidi and Diesel doing, they must be of on an adventure," Stephanie said looking out into the ocean, "I bet she's of saving important people and-"

Stephanie yelped in surprise as a wooden box dropped in front of the couple. It was a light walnut colored with a tag on it that read; "To the Happy 'Newly' Wedded couple; From Heidi and Diesel."

Stephanie smiled and said, "Oh, she got us a wedding gift, I told her she didn't need to!"

Ranger picked the box up and said, "You know Heidi, she's a giver, open it Babe, let's see what gift she gave us."

Stephanie opened the wooden box and took out a long velvet box. She opened the velvet box and pulled out the long stemmed pipe that Heidi smoked from, along with a white china box.

"Her pipe, she gave us her pipe?" Ranger deadpanned, opening the china box and finding the red cannabis inside, "That pothead…"

"Oh, here's a note," Stephanie said, pulling out a piece of parchment paper, "I'll read it, mister, say no to drugs;

_Dear Carlos and Stephanie, I know Carlos is not pleased with what I got you for your wedding gift, but it is the pipe that the first emperor of China smoked, not to sound rude but Diesel gifted me with the pipe that belonged to the only female empress of China, and well, who am I to not take it. The cannabis is very good and if you ever smoke it, and run out of it, Jeanne knows where to get you more, since I gifted her the house that I grew it at in China. I know the idea of Cannabis is not your cup of tea, Carlos, so I have another gift for you; remember that bracelet you gave me, and I gave back to you, well, there was a reason I could not use it. you seemed to have picked up an item called Tears of Clotho, whom just happened to be a Greek goddess who determines the birth of a person. The Tears of Clotho is a very potent fertility charm; it creates life even in barren wombs. The best time to try for a child is during the longest night of winter. I apologize for not being able to heal your ability to make life, Stephanie, but this Bracelet makes it possible for you to have a child of your own, Thaddeus and I will visit you when you have your first born. If you two ever need a healing hand, call out for Thaddeus and he might be there if he is not tending to my _needs_._

_Best Wishes_

_Heidi._

Stephanie folded the letter up and looked down at the bracelet she wore. She looked up at Ranger and said, "I hope our first child is a little girl."

"With your blue eyes," Ranger said softly, kissing Stephanie on her lips.

"And with your mocha latte skin," Stephanie ended, kissing Ranger back, "And with your calm spirit."

"but with your fierce determination." Ranger said, kissing Stephanie again, "Babe, I love you."

"And I love you too," Stephanie said before the couple resumed their walk on the beach. Occasionally purple smoke would blow up from the pipe that Stephanie lit.

Five Years Later

"Sophie Abigail Manoso, you can't just run without finishing your meal!" Stephanie said with a huff, watching her 4 almost five year old daughter run off through the sunflower fields, "that darn kid."

"Babe," Ranger said with a chuckle, watching his wife huff and puff, "She did eat most of it."

"Yeah, well, still," Stephanie said watching their daughter try to catch fireflies, "I told her no fun time, until after dinner."

"Did you bring the bottle of wine?" Ranger asked, getting up and going over to the picnic basket, "The white wine you made was divine, I hope your red wine is just as tasty."

"I hope so too," Stephanie said, leaning against her husband, as he poured them both a glass of red wine, "I wonder…if Heidi forgot about her promise to visit Sophie and us."

"I'm sure she didn't," Ranger said leaning down and kissing Stephanie, "Maybe she's busy."

"Too busy to visit my vineyard!" Stephanie huffed, glaring at her glass of wine, "I mean, Jeanne and Lester are busy in Denmark, but they have time to visit us, why not Heidi."

"Heidi will see us, don't worry, Babe," Ranger said watching their daughter slip into the woods by the sunflower field, "Oh dear, there she goes, into the woods."

"What?"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Sophie smiled softly, watching the rabbits run around the exposed roots of the tree she sat on. She was the apple of her parents' eyes. with wild curly black hair, bright blue eyes and with caramel latte skin, she was the prettiest thing in Napa Valley, well, her parents thought so and so did the neighbors. She was a curious child with a personality as bright as the sun too. She was turning five soon, and would be starting kindergarten, like a big girl.

Sophie looked up from her amusement to hear someone cough daintily beside her. the little girl turned and smiled instantly saying, "Oh!, it's you again! I'm happy to say that I have no injuries, so no need to place those popsicle hands on me!"

The person beside Sophie laughed brightly and said, "I am not here to heal you, I am here to visit, I promised your parents that I would, and so, Here I am, come on, let us go to them, your parents must be really worried about you."

Sophie looked around, the sun was starting to set and she was in the woods alone, her parents told her not to go in there alone. Sophie smiled up at the person and said, "Okay, let's go!"

The person picked Sophie up and carried her out of the woods and into the sunflower fields, where her parents were walking through to get to the woods. Sophie smiled at her mother and father and said, "Daddy, Mommy! My friend is here to see you!"

Stephanie paused seeing Sophie, snuggled in the arms of a person she knew very well, "Heidi….HEIDI!"

Heidi let out a grunt as Stephanie tackled her, making her fall to the ground, Sophie laughing out loud with glee.

Heidi smiled up at Stephanie who pouted and said, "Took you long enough….."

"Sorry, Thaddeus and I were off doing some things, he will be here soon," Heidi said sitting up and turning to Ranger, "Carlos, how are you?"

"Good," Ranger said with a smile, helping the women up, "Glad you're here, we have some red wine that Stephanie just made, would you like a glass?"

"I would love one, I have heard so much about your vineyard from Sophie, she is just the perfect child, not like Jeanne's spawn, who is quite the hellion," Heidi said taking out a long white pipe, and lighting the end of it, "Now, only one glass, I cannot hold my booze for the like of me….."

Stephanie smiled and said, "You know our Daughter?" grabbing her daughter and picking her up, nuzzling her, "That means you been visiting her!"

"Of course, I keep tabs over to make sure she is alright," Heidi said blowing purple smoke from her nose, "It is always nice to have a healing hand close by, you know…."

"Indeed," Ranger said wrapping his arms around Heidi and Stephanie and leading them over to where Diesel stood by the picnic spread, drinking from the bottle of wine, "Oh look, Diesel has arrive!"

"Hey guys," Diesel said with a smile, finishing of the wine, "Great wine, I never knew you'd be a great wine maker, Steph!"

The End….

(Reviews are loved, I love your feedback! :3)


End file.
